Silver Lining
by Capitaine Pickle
Summary: Every cloud has a silver lining. That's what Naruto has always lived by. Follow Naruto, born and raised in Uzushio, as he tries to move on after the destruction of his precious village. [a.k.a. Don't Look Back rewritten]
1. Heritage

**Note:** This is the edited version of _Don't Look Back._ It's also non-linear, which means some questions you might have after reading this chapter will be answered later on. For those who have read the previous story, I'll let you know whether major changes have been made to the edited chapters or not. This one is entirely new.

''Speech''

 _Thoughts_

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Silver Lining**

 _Heritage_

''It's not too late, Naruto. We can still go back if you want,'' Minato told his son gently. Both of them were standing in front of a tall, imposing Torii gate which opened the way to a massive but heavily damaged bridge. The normally bright red monument was dark from coal dust and the large white banner hanging from it, bearing a bold spiral symbol, was half ripped off. For a moment, Naruto simply stared with an indescribable emotion as the fabric danced slightly in the soft warm breeze.

''No,'' he replied, his voice trembling. ''I want to see mom,'' Naruto added more resolutely and started walking down the bridge.

It broke Minato's heart to see his son like this, trying so hard to stay strong and to face what was to come. Minato wished he could spare him the experience. However, he also knew his son needed to face reality in order to move on. With a heavy heart and much resignation, Minato followed his son towards what used to be one of the greatest villages of all Shinobi nations, but most important of all, what used to be their home.

Eyes clouded with grief roamed about the desolated site. He could barely recognize the buildings around him. Half in ruins, without its people, without life. As he looked, Naruto wondered why he had not broken down in tears yet. He could not fathom why he wasn't feeling anything more than this... this emptiness in his heart. He turned around to see his father silently following him. Minato stopped to share a look with him. The truth was, Naruto simply could not believe it. He refused to acknowledge it; the village of Longevity simply could not have fallen in one night. It was impossible; absurd. They had fought in wars and triumphed, they had withstood a siege an entire month unprepared. They could not have been defeated so easily... it was... it was...

Naruto stopped in his aimless walk and stood frozen in the middle of the ruins. Flashes of the massacre suddenly came back to him. He began to shake violently as the images bombarded his brain; his family, his friends... fire, corpses, clashes of metal, destruction, blood; so much blood.

''Naruto...'' Minato uttered, his throat tight. He knelt beside his son and wrapped his arms tightly around the boy, who was shaking as if freezing from an intense cold. His eyes were filled to the brim with water, but the blond refused to let the tears fall. He needed to stay strong for at least a little longer... until he had seen his mother. He looked up to his father, eyes pleading him. Minato understood the silent imploring and helped his son back up on his feet. Father and son held hands tightly and continued to walk.

OoOoO

 _\- - - Three weeks earlier, in Konoha Academy - - -_

''Alright class, settle down!'' Iruka instructed in a booming voice, effectively silencing the chatty students. Once all were properly seated, the academy instructor continued. ''I have something very important to tell you. Today, we are welcoming a new student into our class.'' The little assembly broke out in curious whispers again.

''What the hell. A new student at this time of the year?'' Kiba wondered out loud, his friend Akamaru yipping to support his statement. ''But graduation's just four months away!''

''Huh, that's _if_ you graduate,'' Ino retorted back, smirking. ''And with your grades, I'm not so sure you will.''

''Repeat that if you dare!'' Kiba growled, showing his sharpened canines menacingly. Akamaru did much the same.

''What, are you deaf on top of being stupid?'' Ino replied, crossing her arms, smug look plastered on her face.

''Why do these two always have to be so loud?'' Shikamaru sighed heavily; the racket had brought him out of his nap. ''What a drag.''

''Hn.'' Sasuke, who was sitting beside the lazy Nara, voiced his agreement. He was looking at the scene impassively, elbows on the table and hands joint pensively in front of him.

''Still,'' Shino started, arranging his sunglasses carefully on his nose. ''Kiba rose a valid point. Accepting a new student now seems rather pointless.'' Sasuke looked at his other seating mate with an impressed brow. That was the most the Aburame had said in over a week.

''Silence!'' Iruka screamed in his most commanding voice. The vein on his temple looked like it was about to burst. The student stood straight on their seat, mouths shut. Iruka sighed, letting the pressure out. ''As I was saying. We are welcoming a new student in our class. This student...'' Iruka suddenly was at loss for words. He pursed his lips tightly together, trying to think of the best way to put it. None came. With this kind of delicate issues, it was perhaps best to be as direct and clear as possible. ''He is from Uzushiogakure.'' The air suddenly felt cold and heavy with gloom. Students shared disbelieving looks, but none dared to say a word. A sudden noise caught everyone's attention. They turned to see the source of it and all were surprised to see that it was Sasuke, who had brusquely got up from his seat.

''Could it be...?'' The raven whispered to himself.

''Are you alright, Sasuke?'' Iruka asked carefully, astounded to see his most serious and quiet student react so strongly. The Uchiha blinked, only now realizing what he had done. He sat back down slowly, trying to regain his sense.

''Yes,'' he replied at last. ''Sorry.'' Iruka simply nodded, deciding it was better not to linger on it.

''Please treat our new friend kindly. It might be difficult for him to fit in and make friends, so I want you to be patient, but also as natural as possible. Do your best to make him feel comfortable, is what I'm trying to say...'' Iruka trailed off, scratching his head awkwardly. He new he was asking a lot of students after what had happened. After earning a hesitant nod from his students, Iruka walked towards the sliding door.

''You can come in.'' Iruka moved to the side and gestured for the newcomer to enter. Sasuke's eyes widened in recognition.

The short figure, the blond hair, the clear blue eyes, now doleful from grief, and the unique whiskers marks on each cheek. There was no mistake. It was him. The blond was wearing his mourning attires, almost identical to Konoha's own standard mourning uniform, with the only difference being the sleeves which were longer and large as was the custom in Uzushio. Sasuke also noticed that the boy was wearing a hitai-ate around his neck. It bared the symbol of his native village.

''My name is Uzumaki Naruto,'' the blond said in a soft voice, forcing a smile to the crowd before him. Out of habit, Naruto did his village's traditional Wushu salute, hands hidden by the long black sleeves, and inclined his head politely. ''Nice to meet you all.''

OoOoO

 _\- - - Back to the present, in Uzushio - - -_

Looking back on the experience, Naruto would have to say that this had been the most shocking moment for him.

Thousands and thousands of graves. There were so many of them, they were stretching all the way beyond the Horizon line. Naruto squeezed his father's hand tightly, Minato's skin whitening under the pressure. Minato didn't even feel it. He, too, was horrified by the sight before him. Naruto raised his free hand to his mouth, feeling himself becoming sick. Nothing was going to come out though; he hadn't been able to eat, knowing he was coming back to Uzushio. Minato closed his eyes, unable to bear seeing his son like this. The older blond finally gathered his son in his arms, who let himself fall limply in his embrace. Minato began slowly walking along the graves.

Kakashi had been on the Search & Rescue team –an euphemism not to say Disposal team– sent by Konoha after the attack. Minato had personally asked him to bury Kushina, not wanting his lover to be handled by an indifferent stranger. He still felt ashamed for not having been there, but he had been too injured to help. But more importantly, his foremost duty had been to stay by his son's side at the hospital. Following the directions Kakashi had given him, Minato went on to find his wife's grave. As he walked along the stones, Minato felt his heart sink every time he crossed a name he recognized. Soon, they reached an area where it was no longer just friends or teammates, but family members. Uzumaki Hiroto, the respected clan leader, Uzumaki Nadeko, his mother-in-law, Uzumaki Nanami, his sister-in-law...

Uzumaki Kushina, his beloved wife.

Minato closed his eyes, the pain in his chest turning into an outright stabbing sensation. Fighting back the tears, he slowly let his boy down so he could pay his respects.

Naruto knelt down slowly in front of the grey stone beneath which his mother was buried. He could not believe his mother was just there, cold and immobile beneath the ground. The thought was so macabre, he felt himself become sick again. As if to make sure it was truly there, Naruto let his fingers graze the stone slowly and traced the engraved characters forming his mother's name. His breathing had stop; he was literally suffocating from the pain in his heart. Naruto finally let it all out. He sobbed and sobbed loudly, begging for his mom to come back to him.

''Mom...'' Naruto muttered in a broken voice in between his sobs. ''Mom, I miss you...''

Minato stood and watched the heartbreaking scene, letting his own tears fall free. He was clenching his fists on his sides, nails drawing blood. He wanted to lash out, to destroy everything around him in pure, uncensored rage, but restrained himself for his son's sake. He had to stay strong. If he could not become Naruto's pillar to help him live through this tragedy, then nobody would. He would never let that happen. He hadn't been able to save his wife, but his soul be damned if he let down his precious son.

He wasn't sure how long it took, but Naruto managed to calm himself down. For a while, he simply looked at his mother's grave with an empty look. Then, remembering the small gift he had brought for her, Naruto plunged his right hand into the ample left sleeve of his black mourning outfit. He took out a simple piece of paper on which a seal had previously been painted. He gently placed it on the grave and activated it by imposing the tip of his fingers on it and pouring a small amount of chakra. A single white flower came out of it.

''It's an Arum Lily, your favourite.'' Naruto whispered to his mother. Minato knelt down beside him and smiled softly, touched by his son's delicate gesture. The seal also had the advantage of making the flowers last much longer, unlike hand picked ones which would wither in a matter of days.

''I started attending Konoha Academy,'' Naruto continued. ''I'm in the same class as Sasuke. See? I have my friend to take care of me there and the others are nice too, so don't worry about me, mom.'' He offered his mother a shaky smile. ''Dad is there for me too, of course.'' He added, giving his dad a little smile, which as immediately returned, then turned back to his mother. ''I'll make your dream come true. I'll live a long and happy life. I'll do my best to help the people around me. So please, mom, rest peacefully in heaven.''

OoOoO

 _\- - - Konoha Academy - - -_

Sasuke couldn't concentrate at all on the lesson. He kept thinking about what to say to Naruto and the questions he wanted to ask. He didn't have Naruto's natural ease with others; he was afraid he might lack proper tact and might make his friend feel uncomfortable. At last, lunch break finally came and Sasuke hurried among the hordes of students in the hallways and trailed Naruto outside.

Once in the courtyard, he saw that the little blond had chosen to sit in a secluded corner at the foot of a large tree. As he discretely got closer, he noticed the lack of appetite with which the child ate his food. It was a small bento box with a bed of rice, a mix of vegetables; edamame, peppers and cabbage, along with sliced sweet sesame beef. It looked delicious, but the blond ate the dish slowly mechanically, out of necessity more than anything else. A strange, disturbing sight compared to what he knew of Naruto. It brought back memories to Sasuke too; it had taken him well over a year after the slaughter of his clan to find pleasure in eating again.

The sight almost kept him from talking to him. He shook his head slightly; if he didn't go now, it would only be more difficult to approach him later. He remembered what Naruto had done now almost five years ago. He could have left him alone, but hadn't. He would do the same for him. He walked on with that in mind.

''Do you mind if I sit with you?'' Sasuke asked calmly. Blue eyes looked up to him and brightened when they recognized the dark haired boy.

''Sasuke,'' Naruto replied with a modest mix of surprise and relief. ''Sure, sit down.'' Sasuke did so and Naruto blinked curiously at him. ''Are we in the same class?'' The raven simply nodded. Naruto looked down in shame. ''Sorry, I didn't even notice.''

''Don't you dare apologize,'' Sasuke retorted without hesitation. ''You've got plenty on your mind.'' Naruto gave him a grateful little smile.

''I wasn't sure if I was ready to start school again,'' Naruto said with a trembling voice. ''But knowing you're here makes me feel better.'' Sasuke was taken aback by Naruto's kind allegation. He felt his cheeks heat up slightly and scratched his neck in embarrassment. He didn't think he deserved it but he would do his best to prove himself worthy.

''If you need help catching up, just let me know.'' Two months had passed since the destruction of Uzushio. Naruto had therefore missed a lot of material and doubtless there were adjustments to make to adapt to Konoha's curriculum expectations.

''Thanks.'' Naruto gave him another little smile. Sasuke opened his own bento and both ate in silence. Sasuke couldn't help but glance at the Uzushio hitai-ate Naruto was wearing around his neck. Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, he enquired after the item.

''Had you already graduated?'' He regretted asking as soon as he saw the grief that afflicted those clear blue eyes. Naruto unconsciously brought his hand to his forehead protector, undoubtedly recollecting a painful memory.

''It wasn't official,'' Naruto said vaguely after a moment. ''I still need to pass your exam if I want to be active here.''

''Hey, Uchiha!'' Both friends looked up at the sound of the obnoxious voice. They saw a small group of boys approaching. Sasuke sighed heavily, annoyed as always, with the Inuzuka's lack of discretion.

''Do you know each other?'' Ever the perceptive one, Shikamaru had been surprised with Sasuke's bold move. It was unsurprising for Sasuke to show interest in the boy that had just gone through something similar to him, but it was also unlike the Uchiha to be so eager to talk to someone. Shikamaru had come to the only logical conclusion. Just as Shikamaru thought, Sasuke nodded in the affirmative.

''Are they your friends, Sasuke?'' He then turned to the four boys. ''Wanna sit with us?''

''No, they're not,'' Sasuke answered as they sat down, forming half circle in front of them. ''They're just people I tolerate. Except Kiba.''

''Asshole,'' the tattooed boy spat. The scene earned a small chuckle from Naruto. ''I'm Inuzuka Kiba and this is my best friend Akamaru!''

''Woof!''

''I'm Nara Shikamaru.''

''Aburame Shino.''

''And I'm Akimichi Chouji. Want some chips?'' Chouji pout out his barbecue bag to share with Naruto, who refused politely.

''Nice to meet you all.''

''We've got an exam this afternoon,'' Kiba informed plaintively. ''Is Iruka-sensei making you take it?'' Naruto nodded.

''He said it'd just be formative and that it wouldn't count. 'Said it would help him see what I need to catch up with.'' There was an uncomfortable silence. Sasuke fought the urge to roll his eyes. This was exactly why he didn't want the guys here.

''Do you mind if we ask about what happened?'' Shikamaru spoke up at last. ''My parents won't tell me anything. Either they don't know much or are not allow to say.'' Despite being incredibly lazy, Shikamaru still liked to be informed. All looked expectantly at Naruto, who looked down sadly and shrugged a bit.

''Both, I'm guessing. There's a lot I'm not allowed to say myself.'' On the night of the attack, Naruto had seen and experienced many things that wouldn't be categorized below A-class secrets. ''My father's been meeting with the Hokage and the council a lot lately. I attended some of them to tell them what I saw. What I _can_ tell you is that there's nothing left.'' Naruto closed his eyes and shivered, the air suddenly feeling chilly around him. ''The survivors who made it here in Konoha are almost all civilians. As for Shinobis, there's me, my dad and very few other ninjas from other clans, only one of which will be able to work again. They wanted to eradicate our village; they succeeded,'' he ended darkly, looking down at his tightly clenched fists.

''Who's 'they'?'' Naruto's eyes didn't leave his hands. He shook his head, telling the others he wasn't allowed to say, at least not yet.

''Are you the only Uzumaki alive?'' Sasuke couldn't help but ask. If so, he'd be just like him. His brother didn't count. He didn't deserve to bare the name he had chosen to destroy. Naruto looked up to him, a small gleam of hope in his eyes.

''No. There's one more. I could introduce you to her later after school, if you want!'' Naruto suddenly sounded so happy; Sasuke didn't have the heart to refuse.

OoOoO

 _\- - - In Uzushio - - -_

''We're here,'' Minato informed solemnly. After they had paid their respect to the many other friends and family who had perished during the war, father and son made their way to the centre of the village, where used to stand their most prestigious monument. But now, the Great Temple of Seals was barely recognizable. It had been completely destroyed. Only the distinctive carvings on the ruins allowed Minato to identify the building.

''I don't understand.'' Naruto stared at the ruins, disheartened. ''It was still standing in my dreams.'' He turned to his dad, looking for answers.

It was mostly Naruto's reoccurring dreams that had pushed them to come back to Uzushio. It was always the same. Naruto would wake up somewhere in the village, half in ruins and deserted. A strong calling would guide him to the temple where all major clan ceremonies took place. Every time, Naruto would open the doors from which a blinding light came from and then he would wake up. There was something in there that was waiting for him, but he didn't know what. Minato had had his suspicions, but seeing the temple destroyed only confirmed it.

''It's not what is in the temple, then,'' Minato concluded. ''It's what's beneath it. It's the Library.''

''The Secret Library?'' Naruto exclaimed in surprise. ''So that's where it was...'' He muttered to himself. Only Chunin and above ranked ninjas knew where the village's secret archive was, and only a select few Jounins could even enter it. All the village secrets, research findings, forbidden techniques from all clans... everything was there. It was Uzushiogakure's most well-guarded treasure.

''Do you think the enemy managed to steal from it?'' Naruto asked worriedly, the thought itself striking deep fear within him.

''Impossible,'' Minato replied, not an ounce of doubt in his voice. ''It is impossible to access it without the key. The seal locking it is impenetrable; it was the founder of the village herself who put it there. Legends say she died after she did.''

''Wow...'' Minato had to let a little smile grace his lips when he saw the wonder on his son's face. ''But what are we gonna do?''

''I think the reason you've been having this dream is because you have the key.'' Naruto stared, wide eyed, at his father.

''Really? But how? When did I get it? How come I didn't know?''

''Risa-san was a candidate for next clan head, which means she probably had it.''

''Really? Risa-sensei?'' Naruto said incredulously.

''Yes,'' Minato nodded, smiling softly. ''Her personality seemed incompatible, I know,'' Naruto could only agree with that. She was so different from their now deceased leader who had been so calm and collected. He had been a man with an aura that inspired such awe and respect; it was almost suffocating for the young impressionable villagers. ''but she was very cultured and intelligent. She has a good administrative background and she used to publish books on squad tactics.''

Naruto looked down to the ground, eyes full of sorrow. He had loved his Fuinjutsu teacher very much. After what she had done for him the night of the battle and now this... he would never forget her.

''She must have transferred the key to you when she gave you her hitai-ate,'' Minato continued, focusing back on the temple. ''Did she do anything out of the ordinary?'' Naruto pondered for a moment. He didn't particularly want to go through the events of the attack in the Academy again, but he had no choice. He turned to his father.

''She put her hands on each side of my head and she made our foreheads touch. Now that I think about it, I did feel a sort of burning sensation, but I thought it was because of my injuries.'' Minato nodded.

''That must be it, but we'll find out soon enough.'' Minato walked closer to the temple, then stopped to perform a series of complex hand signs.

''Wind Release: Giant Wind Palm!'' Minato cried out as he struck his palm forward with an incredible release of chakra.

The single gust of wind held such power that it pushed away most of the enormous stone ruins, uncovering the beautiful mosaic floor. Naruto stared in awe at his father's technique. He never ceased to amaze him. The blond duo walked to the centre of the temple, where the Uzumaki clan symbol lay. Around it, intricate mosaic designs and symbols decorated the crest and continued to spread out all over the floor of the temple. Minato knew it to be the main entrance of the library.

''Try gathering chakra to the third eye. It should activate the seal,'' Minato told his son, who readily complied.

Black chakra ink started to appear on Naruto's forehead. It started with a simple swirl, as did all Uzumaki seals, then spread out into complicated characters and patterns all over Naruto's body, from the tips of his toes to the tip of his fingers.

''Wow... This is incredible,'' Naruto whispered staring down at his hands.

''Place your palms over the Heaven and Earth characters.'' Naruto knelt in front of his clan's crest and placed his palms on each side, as instructed. The mosaic lit up with blue chakra and started moving around, like a puzzle, to open the way to a large staircase made of dark grey stones. Seals plastered on the underground walls lit up in small red flames to allow visitors to see through the darkness of the cave. Naruto stared in awe, restless to see what was waiting for him down there. Minato himself looked quite impressed. He had been in there only once and the gate had been previously open for him and Kushina.

Minato helped his awestruck son back up on his feet and the two slowly went down the stairs. Hundreds and hundreds of massive wooden bookshelves filled with treasures awaited them. Each bookshelf was locked with another seal, which Naruto could open with his key by simply pressing his right palm at the centre of the lock.

''You can take whatever you like,'' Minato said at last, smiling softly to his son. ''It's yours by right.'' Naruto let the knowledge sink in for a moment. He felt unworthy and would much rather have his family alive than have access to even the greatest of jutsus and clan secrets. He looked up to his dad.

''I think it's safer here,'' Naruto admitted. ''But I'd like to take some scrolls on more advanced sealing. What about you dad?''

''I'll take the war archives. It might help with the investigation.''

OoOoO

 _\- - - In Konoha - - -_

When Sasuke followed Naruto after school, he didn't expect his blond friend to go straight to the Hyuuga heiress. Apparently, Sasuke wasn't the only one Naruto already knew in class.

''Hey, Hinata-chan.'' Naruto smiled to the shy girl who turned around to greet him properly.

''Hello, Naruto-kun.'' The girl blushed.

''Do you mind if I come over with Sasuke to visit Juki-chan?''

''No problem,'' she almost whispered, playing nervously with her fingers.

The trio made their way across the village on foot until they reached the prestigious Hyuuga compound. The white-eyed shinobis there respectfully welcomed their young princess, and some even recognized Naruto. The latter surprised Sasuke. He apparently came here fairly often. It puzzled him that they should come here to meet the other Uzumaki, too.

They went further into the residences, where the atmosphere seemed to change. Sasuke felt as though it had become a little more tense. Although Hinata received the same polite greetings, they did not seem quite as sincere. And judging from Hinata's uneasy expression (more so than usual, that is), the dark haired girl was also aware of it. In Naruto's case, however, it was difficult to tell what he was thinking. His entire aura was already one of mourning, so he did not seem affected by the atmosphere.

At last, they reached a small, but picturesque pavilion. In front of it, there was a small pond that added tranquillity to the place, and once they entered, Sasuke could see that it also had a background adapted for Taijutsu training; the clan's speciality. Hinata slid open one of the rice paper doors. Inside was a kind-looking man, probably in his mid thirties. He was feeding a bottle of milk to a baby wrapped up warmly in a cuddly blanket. The older Hyuuga looked up and greeted them with a smile.

''Good afternoon, Tokuma-san,'' Naruto said, returning the gesture.

''I see you brought a friend, this time.''

''Yeah, I hope you don't mind,'' Naruto replied.

''Not at all.'' Naruto smiled back and turned to Sasuke.

''Come meet Juki-chan.'' Naruto grabbed the Uchiha's arm and hurried him over to the baby.

Sasuke stared down, round-eyed, at the pretty-looking baby. She had a small, soft-looking tuft of red hair on the top of her head and large, white eyes. A pure mix of Hyuuga and Uzumaki, something he didn't think he would see in his life.

''Her mom was Uzumaki Risa,'' Naruto explained. The mere mention of the woman's name was like a stab to the heart for Tokuma. ''She's the one who gave me this,'' Naruto continued, bringing his hand up to his forehead protector. ''She was my fuinjutsu teacher in the academy.''

Tokuma asked Naruto if he wanted to hold her, to which he nodded eagerly. The man handed the baby over. Naruto looked down at her fondly, then back to Sasuke.

''And when she gets older, I'm the one who's going to teach her fuinjutsu and when the time comes, I'm going to give her her mother's hitai-ate.'' Naruto had the firm conviction that this was his duty. He owed his teacher this much at least. Sasuke nodded solemnly. He would do the same in Naruto's place.

''I have bad news, Naruto,'' Tokuma said after a while when the blond gave him back his daughter. ''The Elders are still bent on calling her Hyuuga, rather than Uzumaki.'' He informed with a grave expression. He had been fighting with the Elders for weeks now to let her bare the Uzumaki name in memory of his beloved Risa. The Hyuuga name was also far from instinct, while the Uzumaki clan was in need of revival. He had not even thought the Elders would refuse; to him, it went without saying. It seemed that even after everything he knew of his clan, he was still naive enough to hope for the best.

Naruto's disapproval of the Elders' choice was clear. It was taking everything he had not to openly curse them out loud, but he would refrain from doing so in their very own compound and in front of Hinata on top of it.

''Were you really expecting otherwise?'' a new, condescending voice rang throughout the room. Everyone turned to see another boy around Sasuke's age.

''Neji nii-san...'' Hinata breathed out uncomfortably.

Neji was accompanied by a middle aged woman. Tokuma met Neji regularly for training sessions; the woman was there to take care of the child meanwhile.

''Her fate was sealed the moment she was born with the Byakugan,'' Neji continued monotonously. ''Her life is already traced for her.'' Naruto stabbed him with intense glares.

''If you think Tokuma-san and I will let her become a caged bird, you're sadly mistaken,'' Naruto growled through his teeth. His statement earned a gasp from everyone in the room, except Sasuke who was not aware of the weight of his words.

''So you know...'' Neji replied darkly.

It was almost textbook material back in Uzushio. Well-over a century ago, the main Hyuuga house had secretly hired an Uzumaki sealmaster to design the Cursed Seal. Upon discovery, the people of Uzushio had executed the sealmaster for crime against humanity. Tension between the two clans had lingered for decades before fading with time. It came back full force to Naruto today.

Sasuke looked between the two boys, confused. It looks like he'd have some questioning to do later on.

''It doesn't matter if you do. There's nothing you can do about it. She's the bastard daughter of a branch member of our clan. She will pay for her parents' mistake.''

''Neji!'' Tokuma braked angrily at his pupil. He knew Neji had every right to be bitter about the Hyuuga's clan policies, especially considering his father's tragic demise and of the boy's own Cursed Seal. But calling her daughter a mistake was grossly out of line and a major insult to his lover's memory.

''You asshole!'' Naruto cried out in rage before charging at the dark haired boy.

Neji instantly blocked Naruto's hit with a strike of his own. The two retreated to the backyard where initial fighting continued. They retreated to each end of the small training ground and glared at each other. The others, still inside, rushed out to the balcony.

''Naruto-kun, don't let his words get to you. I'll settle things with him,'' Tokuma told the small blond.

''No. I'll take care of this _my_ way.'' He adopted a fighting stance. ''After I'm done with him, he'll never dare to insult Juki-chan again.''

Sasuke crossed his arms together, looking at the scene, serious and attentive. Unlike Tokuma, he approved of Naruto's reaction.

''Naruto-''

''Let them fight.'' Tokuma's heated protest was interrupted by none other than Hiashi himself. Hinata had rushed to her father in hopes of getting his help in ceasing the fight. However, it looked like the man was intrigued rather than concerned with the quarrel. In fact, he was eager to find out how Minato's son would fair against his talented nephew.

''Let me explain why some people thought prudent to annihilate sealmasters,'' Naruto said darkly through his teeth as he began a series of hand signs. ''Fuinjutsu is extremely versatile. There is no limit to what we can do.'' He activated his first technique; a sensor seal with a radius of about six feet around him. He rapidly performed another one; chakra-paralysing seals in each of his palms. ''Even copying other clans' signature techniques. All you need is a little creativity.''

Hiashi's eyes narrowed severely at Naruto's bold declaration. Neji, too, was taken aback, but he quickly regained his composure. He smirked smugly at Naruto and snorted, trying to look unimpressed.

''Your pathetic imitation doesn't stand a chance. Once someone enters my circle of divination, there is only one possible outcome.'' Neji took his stance and activated his Byakugan.

Naruto released his gravity seals before engaging into taijutsu. Despite training with seal-weights, speed still wasn't Naurto's strength and he didn't want to take any chances with this particular fight.

Much to Naruto's annoyance, he soon realized that it wouldn't be enough. He was barely dodging Neji's hits and hadn't landed a single one himself. He was only managing thanks to the sensor seal, which allowed him to follow Neji's movements. Frustrated beyond relief, he tried to land a kick. Neji smirk, seeing the opening and landed his firsts strikes, effectively blocking two of Naruto's tenketsu situated in his leg.

''Damn it!'' Naruto cursed as he fell to the ground. He swiftly rolled out of Neji's Eight Trigrams field and weakly got up. Panting heavily, Naurto cursed himself for letting his frustration weaken his focus on the fight. The strikes to his right leg would definitely slow him down drastically, and he certainly didn't need that if he wanted to win this. Taking a deep breath, Naruto tried to calm himself down and find balance. His father often compared his temper with the tumultuous rivers surrounding his native village. More than once, Minato had encouraged his son to appease the current of his emotions to improve his style. Now was the time to follow his dad's advice.

''Sadow Clone Jutsu!'' Dust clouds dissipated and three more Narutos appeared.

''Shadow clones?'' Hiashi whispered incredulously. With three fully capable clones -also equipped with paralysing seals- to distract Neji, Naruto's decreased speed was no longer an obstacle.

In the midst of the chaos that was their fight, Naruto took out a kunai and threw it at Neji, who was forced to make a turn to avoid the hit. _Gotcha!_ Naruto thought triumphantly. One of his clones dived in. Neji managed to cast it away, though not without first getting a seal on his dominant arm, which fell limply to his side.

Neji refused to let it get to him. He could still block Naruto's tenketsu even with only one arm. He had to admit he had underestimated his opponent. The small emotive blond had looked perfectly harmless to Neji. Rectifying his approach, Neji picked up his maximum speed and charged at Naruto's clones with new-found motivation. He would not be left humiliated in front of _that man_.

''What?!'' Naruto cried out, shocked to see Neji dismiss his clones so easily. He started to perform a series of hand signs, ready to cast a new sealing jutsu. However, before he could complete it, Neji was already in front of him, all-seeing eyes fixed on him. Time to finish what he had started.

''Eight Trigram: four palms!'' Neji grunted, blocking more of Naruto's tenketsu.

''Eight palms!'' Naruto was barely aware of what was going on; all he knew was that he couldn't move.

''Sixteen palms!'' More deadly strikes hit Naruto, who had a hard time to even breath.

''Thirty-two palms!'' Neji braced himself for the final.

''Sixty-four palms!'' The last strikes sent Naruto flying several feet back. Sasuke stared, bewildered, as he saw his only friend fall harshly to the ground. He couldn't believe Naruto had been defeated so quickly. He turned his dark eyes to Neji, who was smirking shamelessly. Judging from the hitai-ate he was wearing, this guy was a genin and looked probably at least a year or two older. Sasuke clenched his fist tightly together. Every second of training counted.

''Urgh...'' Everyone's attention locked on Naruto's trembling form. The blond was trying to get back on his feet with obvious difficulty. As he fell back down on his hands and knees, Naruto felt tears of frustration and anger threaten to fall. He gritted his teeth together, nails digging into the dirt beneath him.

That Hyuuga... He had dared to insult his family. His precious family who was cruelly stolen from him. Juki was the gift, the miracle that his sensei had left for her lover in this sad, twisted world. And that guy... that son of a bitch had...

Naruto looked up, blue ice now icy with pure rage. Tears strolled down his cheeks freely, but he did not care. When someone hurt his precious people, they had to pay, whatever it took.

Neji could not believe what he was seeing. The boy was now standing in front of him, hands forming a hand sign as if wanting to summon chakra. _Impossible._ He thought. _What is that fool trying to accomplish?! He'll just end up killing himself!_

Dust had started to lift up around Naruto, as if an ominous wind was swirling around him. Everyone's eyes widened in disbelief. Hiashi rapidly activated his Byakugan, trying to see what exactly was going on. All of the blond's chakra had indeed been blocked. How was this possible, then?

Naruo cried out to the world and the older Byakugan users stared in awe when a dark red flame sparked within Naruto's core. The whisker marks on his cheeks became thicker and darker. His eyes, too, seemed to change; his pupils were slanted and red flame-like strings of chakra appeared and disappeared around him.

''What in the world...'' Hiashi breathed out, astonishment clear on his face. Hinata and Sasuke looked between the adults around the, confused by the whole scene.

''Five Pronged Seal!'' A blinding yellow light flashed and before anyone had registered what was going on, Minato had appeared and struck his son's clothed stomach with a seal. All traces of the mysterious power that had emerged within Naruto completely vanished and the boy passed out.

Minato caught his son in his arms before he hit the ground and held him protectively. He stared down, deeply saddened to see his son in such a state. Bruised all over and cheeks wet with fresh tears. He wondered what had pushed his son to try and summon the Fox's chakra. He had very strictly forbidden Naruto to try to use that power without his supervision; the seal was too recent, he was too inexperienced and would never be able to control it. Yet, Minato found himself unable to feel upset with his son. He had been through too much already and Naruto had clearly been pushed to do what he did. Minato looked sharply at Naruto's opponent. He noticed the boy's limp arm.

''The seal Naruto placed on you should fade on its own in about twenty-four hours,'' he said evenly. He could have deactivated it, of course, but he did not feel particularly compassionate towards the young boy who had hurt his son. He turned to Hiashi. ''I'll be back later so you can tell me why you let something like this happen.''

Hiashi swallowed thickly but kept his expression straight. Minato's severe look, already cold and sharp from grief, was dreadfully intimidating. He refused to let it show, though; he had to keep up appearances in front of the others.

Without another word, Minato Hirashined out of the compound, Naruto held securely in his arms.

OoOoO

Naruto sighed heavily as he sat on the Hokage monument; his favourite spot in his new village. The sun was starting to set, thus lightly painting the sky a warm orange colour. It was a comforting sight for Naruto after such a tedious day. Thanks to the bastard Hyuuga's Gentle Fist, his chakra coils were still almost completely blocked. Because of that, Naruto only attended lectures and weapon practice and was pulled aside from the other classes (chakra control, ninjutsu and free sparing) with another private sensei for a catching-up session. Naruto had been at the bottom half of his class back in Uzushio in History and other boring theory classes; and now he was expected to learn Konoha's own? _Bleh._ Well, since his father was meeting up with the Hyuuga head to discuss yesterday's event, Naruto decided to treat himself to a little landscape contemplation, and here he was.

When ha had come back to his sense yesterday, his father, instead of scolding him for being reckless and impulsive as he had expected, had simply hugged and kissed him. The wound was still too fresh and was affecting both their feelings in strange ways. Naruto was Minato's whole world, he was all he had. Naruto realized that and it touched him deeply. He should apologize later; seeing his son getting himself hurt like that -physically and emotionally- wasn't something he needed to experience at the moment. Naruto swore to himself to be more careful.

''What's up?'' Naruto turned curiously and smiled when he saw his dark haired friend. Sasuke had a straight face, though not unfriendly, at least not when directed at him, which he rather liked about his friend. He admired Sasuke's ability to always look in control of his thoughts and his emotions. Naruto was an open book, exposed for all to see, and it wasn't always to his advantage.

''Nothing much,'' Naruto shrugged. Sasuke sat down beside him. The two sat in a comfortable silence and looked at the peaceful scenery.

''What happened yesterday?'' Sasuke asked at least. Naruto pursed his lips together. He hated hiding things from his friend, but he had no choice. He wouldn't disobey his father; he would wait for his approval.

''I was about to use a special ability, but dad sealed it off. I can't use it until he unseals it. He says I'm not ready yet.'' Sasuke did not ask details about said special ability, which Naruto was grateful for. Lying had never been his forte.

''How did your dad know you were about to use it?''

''He has a sort of detector seal placed on both me and him. It goes off when I try to use it.'' Sasuke blinked, then smirked teasingly.

''Just how many seals do you have on yourself?'' Sasuke knew Naruto was using gravity seals for training as well as storing seals for weapons directly on his skin. Now this? Naruto beamed at him.

''Dozens!'' He exclaimed proudly. ''Let's see... the weights, the chakra recycling seal, my dad's Hirashin seal, the Ceremonial seal, the weapons...'' He trailed off. _The Jinchuuriki seal, the Key to the library..._ he added mentally. ''If I could summon up any chakra to activate them all at once, my whole body would be covered in black scribbles,'' he chuckled.

''Nice,'' Sasuke replied simply, a small smile curving up his lips. The duo slipped back into quiet meditation; the landscape before them was strangely inspiring.

''Together,'' Sasuke stated after a while, his voice was full of certitude and the look in his eyes held no doubt. ''we will avenge our clans.''

Naruto pondered on what Sasuke just said. Naruto and Sasuke weren't only different in temper or physical appearance. Their ambitions differed as well. Naruto, while he was being eaten alive with grief, was not particularly attracted to the sole notion of revenge. No. Naruto's goal was much grander.

''We'll do better, Sasuke,'' Naruto said, turning to meet eye to eye. ''We'll bring peace to this world, and no one will ever experience suffering ever again.''

Sasuke listened quietly, unflinching, to Naruto's words. He thought Naruto was incredibly naive to say something like this, but he had said it with the same conviction Sasuke had poured into his own words, so he couldn't bring himself to mock him. Regardless of what would come in the future, both boys felt they would need each other if they ever wished to fulfill their destiny.

''You're incorrigible. How do you do that?''

''Do what?'' Naruto blinked innocently at his friend's question.

''Say something like this after what you went through,'' Sasuke replied. Naruto smiled lightly. He looked back to the clouds.

''Mom used to say 'Every cloud has a silver lining.' She taught me not to despair, not to give up and to always aim for better things. I'm not going to stop listening to her now that she's gone, you know. On the contrary. It was my mother's wish to see me contribute to the creation of a better world. I will make her dream come true, and believe me, I never go back on a promise I make.'' He had been named after a character who fought for peace; from the moment his parents knew he had been conceived, they had bestowed him with their Will of Fire.

If Sasuke had genuine respect for his friend before, it had reached its height now. It made him wonder what his own mother's dream had been. His ambition was a selfish one, that much Sasuke knew. His entire family was dead; what good would it do for them if he killed Itachi? None, of course. He did it form himself. Naruto, on the other hand, had always been the selfless kind. Everything he did, he did for the sake of others.

''If your plan to bring peace involves me killing _that man_ ,'' Naruto understood _that man_ to be the killer of Sasuke's family. ''then I don't mind helping you.'' Sasuke smirked. His friend had an odd sense of humour, but Naruto appreciated it all the same.

The two shared a smirk and grabbed each other's hands firmly, sealing their pact. Together, they were going to be unstoppable.

* * *

 **Note:** So there it goes. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that the back and forth in time wasn't too confusing. I'm also curious to know what you think about Sasuke's character. I hope he doesn't seem too OOC; I aimed for a plausible alteration due to his meeting Naruto earlier (explained in later chapters). Let me know what you think, I'd be very grateful. It's always a pleasure for me to hear from you!

'Till next time!


	2. Reminiscence

**Note:** In this chapter as well as the upcoming ones, you will see some flashbacks happening in Uzushio. For example, ''- - - Uzushio: Three years remaining - - -'' means ''three years before Uzushio's destruction''.

 **For those who read DLB:** There's a lot of elements from chapter 2's ''Clan Expectations'', but I've put lots of new passages to make the update worth it for your guys! I'll try to do that in the upcoming chapters as well.

''Speech''

 _Thoughts_

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Silver Lining**

 _Reminiscence_

Naruto missed his old school dearly, but everyone at Konoha Academy made things more bearable for him. Naruto made friends easily and Iruka-sensei was a very kind and accommodating teacher, though he could get a little scary at times. He reminded him of his late sealing teacher; neither enjoyed when Naruto goofed around or slacked off.

Naruto stood up in front of his mirror in his freshly-painted room, getting ready for the day. It had been well-over two months since they had moved into their new apartment here in Konoha, but neither father nor son had had the energy to truly make it 'home' until recently. They had painted the walls and moved in some valuables they were able to save from the debris during their last trip to Uzushio. They also added a bit of refreshment to the place with plants –which Naruto always enjoyed taking care of, a habit that had been passed down by his mother- and other decorative pieces. Slowly but surely, the blond was coming to accept Konoha as his new home, thanks to all the kind people who supported him and helped him move on. He willed his spirits to recover faster everyday. He knew it would make his mother happy. Still, Naruto thought as he looked over himself in the mirror, he wasn't ready to take off his mourning outfit just yet.

Exiting his room, he looked over to end of the hallway where gallons of paint –most empty, some still full- and brushes were stored temporarily. A huge grin formed on Naruto's lips. They were done painting the walls, so there should be no harm in… recycling them, right? He looked around carefully, making sure his dad wasn't anywhere in sight, and quickly sealed the paint into a scroll, which he secured with two others in a holster –also serving as belt– at his back.

OoOoO

\- - - Uzushio: Three years remaining - - -

''I've had it, Naruto,'' Kenichi-sensei said with his arms in the air, exasperated. ''You think greasing all the weapons to screw up the aim-'' At that, Naruto snickered. ''-would be funny? Then you're going to clean them all twice over. How you managed to even get passed the barrier is beyond me.''

''Low-level seal; easy to break,'' Naruto said smugly. Kenichi glared pointedly at him. It irritated him the school's worst prankster he ever had as a student also happened to be extremely talented in fuinjutsu.

''I'll be sure to make it inaccessible, then,'' Kenichi said through his teeth.

And so, here he was, shining all the weapons under the careful eye of one of the other teachers at the academy. However, Naruto hadn't said his last word yet. If this was going to be the last time he'd be able to access the weapons before Kenichi-sensei modified the seal, then he just _had_ to pull off a last prank. The opportunity was screaming for it. He also happened to know the teacher who was watching him very well; it was Nakagawa Aimi-sensei, his second grade teacher and a pretty middle-aged woman whose greatest weakness was fashion. Aimi-sensei loved shopping; he knew because he always made sure to learn everything there was to know about his teachers in order to use the information against them for pranks. His dad called it being immature; his mom called it being resourceful _and_ immature.

''Mom won't be happy,'' Naruto admitted as he cleaned a shuriken with a rag.

''You bet she won't,'' Aimi-sensei chuckled as she finished polishing her nails.

''Well, there's that, but there are also major sales at UzuCouture.'' Aimi-sensei literally bounced on her seat.

''Really?!''

''Yeah, she wanted to take me there since I'm apparently growing out of my clothes, you know? I guess we won't make it before it closes,'' Naruto explained with feigned disappointment.

''That's a shame,'' his old sensei couldn't help but agree. ''But you asked for it, kiddo.'' Naruto nodded dutifully and tried his best to hide his mirth. The seed has been planted.

After about fifteen minutes, Naruto noticed Aimi-sensei getting restless on her seat. She was constantly looking back and forth between the clock and Naruto like she could will him to finish faster. Naruto, of course, was taking his sweet time.

''Say, Naruto-chan...'' Aimi started tentatively. _Yes!_ Naruto screamed in victory within himself then turned to his teacher. ''I know you're a good kid. You've learned your lesson, right?'' Naruto nodded fervently. ''I know you'll finish cleaning; you've always gone through the consequences, so you don't really need me here, do you?'' Naruto blinked innocently.

''I don't think so, sensei. Unless you want to help me clean?''

''Ha!'' Aimi snorted. ''In your dreams, Naruto-chan.'' She looked at the clock again. ''Alright, I'm gonna leave a little early. When you're done, you can just reactivate the old locking seal and I'll come back later with Seiwa-san to upgrade it, okay?''

''Alright!'' Naruto said with a smile. ''Have a good one, sensei.''

''You too, kiddo. Have fun cleaning those.'' Both waved good bye and Aimi-senei finally left the room. A Machiavellian grin formed upon Naruto's lips. He turned to the weapons and rubbed his hands excitedly together. Time to have some fun.

OoOoO

''You know, Naruto,'' Kushina started as she looked over the suspension form she had just received from school. ''I don't know if I should be impressed or appalled.'' Attached to it was a detailed report of Naruto's 'exploits'. She put the papers down and looked at the other end of the dining table where a meek and repentant-looking Naruto was sitting. Kushina sighed. She had gotten an suspension notice once or twice a year since Naruto started the academy. They had all been one-day suspensions, but this time, it was one week long because school's weapons were in question.

''Putting a seal on them so they stick and can't be thrown is pretty ingenious work.'' Naruto looked up surprisingly at that. ''But getting suspended was incredibly stupid.''

Naruto gulped when he saw his mother's fierce glare. He could see her hair starting to rise up, signalling that she was going into Habareno-mode. Kushina sighed heavily, rubbing her temples. His son's pranks had always been inoffensive until now. She had to make things clear before Naruto took things too far.

''This is getting out of hand, Naruto. Someone could have gotten hurt. Doing that to an enemy on a mission, _that's_ hilarious, but messing with weapons at the academy, that's down right unacceptable. You've crossed the line this time, Naruto. I'm very, very disappointed.'' Naruto looked down at his hands, feeling his heart sink hearing his mother's words.

''Your dad is on a mission for another two weeks,'' Kushina continued, getting up from her seat, impressing her son with her height. ''which means I can punish you disproportionately and he won't try to dissuade me.'' _Uh oh, I'm in deep trouble this time,_ Naruto gulped. ''For the next month: no ramen, no dessert, no allowance, no video games, no TV, no comics, and you're grounded. Curfew will be at 7pm.'' Naruto's eyes went wide as saucers.

''No way!'' The words jerked out of him violently.

''I'm not done, you know!'' Kushina said with a finger up, stopping her son from any more protesting. ''You will also: cook dinner and wash the dishes after, sweep, dust and tidy up one room per day, take out the trash, fold the laundry and you're going to write a letter of apology to your teachers.'' Naruto fell dramatically to his knees, mouth agape.

''Oh!'' Kushina thought suddenly. ''And you'll give me massages whenever I want.''

OoOoO

When Minato came back from his mission, the first thing he noticed was that the house was immaculate. Not that he and Kushina didn't take proper care of their home, but this was a whole other level of cleanliness. He could almost see his reflection on the freshly waxed floor, the air smelled incredibly clean and he noticed there was something slowly simmering in the crock pot. He moved over to the living room. There, he was met with the strangest sight he had ever beheld. For a moment, he wondered if he was caught up in a genjutsu.

''Would you like some more tea, ma'am?'' Naruto, dressed smartly with a bowtie and a clean towel at his arm, asked his mother.

''Please,'' Kushina replied, sitting comfortably on the couch and wearing her favourite house coat. Naruto gently poured the hot liquid into her cup, then moved in front of her feet where they lay on the footstool. Naruto knelt down and began massaging his mother's feet. Minato's mouth fell to the ground. Both mother and son shifted their eyes on him.

''Hey, honey! How did the mission go?'' Kushina beamed.

''Hello, father. Would you like me to draw you a warm bath?'' Naruto asked without stopping his ministrations.

''What in the world happened here?'' the older blond asked. If this wasn't a genjutsu, was he actually going insane?

''Naruto got suspended.''

OoOoO

\- - - Back to the present, in Konoha - - -

Naruto couldn't help but wipe a tear from his eye with a sad smile. His mom had been one crazy woman. There was nobody else like her in the entire world.

OoOoO

After a hearty breakfast with his father, Naruto made his way to school, whistling nonchalantly. He allowed himself to get lost in conjectures, planning his prank. Since he had just missed another week of school due to his and his father's trip to Uzushio, Naruto expected he was going to be tutored on what he had missed again. Today's schedule said they would spend the better part of the morning training in taijutsu, and that was usually the class he missed for that purpose, since his level was good enough. The class would be divided into pairs and while the teacher observed and commented a spar, the other pairs would be practicing on wooden dummies. Naruto grinned to himself; he had his plan. He invoked a shadow clone, to which he gave his scroll containing the paint.

''You know what to do, buddy.'' The clone grinned and jumped on the rooftops towards the academy.

On his way there, Naruto, as usual, passed in front of Sasuke's own apartment. He had adopted the habit of waiting in front of the building to walk with his friend. He didn't have to wait long; Sasuke was out in less than a minute.

''How did it go?'' Sasuke asked when he reached his friend. Naruto pondered over the question for a second. It was a tricky one.

''I feel a little... liberated, you know?'' Naruto said tentatively. ''I was finally able to visit my mom.'' He smiled a little.

''Good,'' the raven simply replied. ''You didn't miss much, but I made copies of my notes and homework for you. I'll give them to you on our way back.'' Naruto bit the inside of his cheek, trying not to let a laugh escape from his mouth. Should he warn his friend that he might not be able to walk back home with him because of a potential detention? Nah. It wouldn't be as fun.

''You're the best, Sasuke!'' Naruto said with a grateful smile. Sasuke shrugged, feeling a little embarrassed. He hid his hands in his pockets and the two resumed their walk. When they entered the classroom, most of the other students as well as Iruka-sensei had already arrived.

''Alright, good morning class.'' The students returned the greeting all in unison. Iruka got up from his desk and started passing some papers. ''These are the results from your exam two weeks ago.'' As the teacher passed out the copies, the young ninjas-to-be exchanged remarks and many moaned at their grades. When Naruto received his, he wasn't particularly surprised by his grade.

''Well,'' He started, shrugging and putting the paper down in front of him. ''at least I _almost_ passed this time.'' Sasuke raised a curious brow then took a quick look at his friend's exam. He looked at his friend with a deadpan expression –or rather, the same expression he had all the time.

''Next time we'll study together,'' the raven said, not leaving Naruto with any say in the matter. Not that Naruto minded. He smiled brightly at his friend.

''Okay.''

''What did you get, Sasuke-kun?'' Naruto jolted a little in surprise; Sakura and Ino had seemingly sneaked up to them without him noticing. Sasuke had to admit he was a little impressed; stalking apparently helped with _some_ ninja skills. ''I got a perfect score! You probably did too, right? You're so smart, after all.'' Sasuke managed not to roll his eyes, which did not fail to impress Naruto; though the blond could tell the Uchiha was annoyed.

''What does it matter to you, Sakura?''

''Oh, just curious,'' she said innocently, though not quite innocent enough to keep herself from stealing a peek at Sasuke's copy. She squealed in delight. ''I knew it, we got the same grade!''

''What about you, Naruto-kun?'' Naruto turned his attention to Ino, who was smiling at him. ''Did you make any progress?'' It was no secret to the other kids that Naruto had a hard time in class. With his loss, it had been hard to even listen to the lectures at first. He also had missed a lot of material and needed to adapt to Konoha's curriculum. And, Naruto had to be honest with himself, he wasn't exactly the brightest in the lot.

''A little. Still not passing though,'' he smiled sheepishly. ''Thanks for asking.'' Unlike Sasuke, Naruto didn't really mind the girls' attention; they were really nice, so where was the problem?

''I'm sure you'll get there. Let me know if you need help studying.''

''That won't be necessary,'' Sasuke interjected, knowing too well Ino would ogle Naruto rather than actually help him. _Fangirls._

''Yeah, it's not like you're doing that good, Ino,'' Sakura said, snickering. Ino puffed her cheeks, offended.

''Probably because I don't have a giant forehead where I can store all those books!'' Ino replied, sticking out her tongue. Sakura's vein popped as she gritted her teeth angrily. She was about to bark at the blonde before something caught her attention. She peered down to see Naruto's exam copy.

''Wow,'' Sakura exclaimed, her expression changing drastically. ''you have such a delicate handwriting. I wish I could write like that!'' Naruto blinked once, twice. That was the last thing he had expected. Curious, Ino also took a proper look at Naruto's copy.

''It's true! I'm totally jealous.'' Ino batted her lashes at Naruto. The blond blinked curiously again and looked down at his paper.

''You think so? Thanks, I guess.'' He scratched the back of his neck, unsure how to react at the strange praise. Sasuke, wondering what the fuss was about, also peered down. He had never paid attention to something as insignificant. He raised an impressed brow. He had to admit it was surprisingly clean and sophisticated, a strange contrast with Naruto's rather exuberant personality.

''I guess I took the habit from sealing-calligraphy. If you mess up the strokes even in the slightest, it can really affect the jutsu,'' Naruto mused. He had never really noticed that his handwriting was so neat; back in Uzushio, everyone's calligraphy had been flawless.

''Excuse me, Iruka-sensei?'' the school's secretary called through the intercom, effectively quieting the students in the classroom.

''Yes?''

''Your substitute teacher has arrived. Should I send him in?''

''Please do.''Everyone went back to their seat and waited for Iruka's instructions. He nodded approvingly. ''Alright, I've requested a substitute for our taijutsu training. You're lucky; he's the best of the best in the field. I expect you to be on your best behaviour.

''Yes, sensei,'' all students said at once. There was a knock on the door.

''Come in.''

Naruto stared at the green-clad figure that entered the classroom in a more than ostentatious manner. Naruto instantly recognized him; a man like that couldn't be forgotten even if he dearly wished he did.

''Good morning young shinobis! Ah, it has been a while since I've entered these walls.'' He wiped an emotional tear dramatically. ''It is full of wonderful memories.'' The whole class stared, some exchanging incredulous looks. ''But where are my manners? I am Maito Gai, Konoha's Sublime Green Beast!'' He performed what Naruto knew to be his signature good-guy pose. His teeth were as white as ever. He snickered to himself; for once, he was glad he would be taken out of taijutsu.

''Is this a joke?'' Naruto heard Sasuke whisper incredulously beside him. Naruto's laugher only increased.

''Thank you for coming today, Maito-san.'' Iruka smiled sheepishly, then turned to his students. ''Come on guys, greet your sensei properly.''

''Good morning... Maito-sensei,'' the students said uncertainly.

''What a youthful bunch of students you have, Iruka-sensei!''

''Er... thanks,'' Iruka laughed awkwardly then promptly proceeded to shoo the students out of the classroom with his substitute. ''Naruto, bring your stuff over here, we'll start by going over that exam.''

''Yes, sensei,'' Naruto said as he gathered his things. He looked out the window where he could see the rest of the class walking towards the training ground. He took a look down at his exam, full of red marks, then joined Iruka and sat beside him at the desk.

OoOoO

\- - - Uzushiogakure: Seven years remaining - - -

''This is last week's quiz. Please have it signed by a parent then bring it back Monday.'' A five years old Naruto fidgeted nervously into his seat as Uzumaki Risa-sensei passed the corrected quiz. He had to pass. If he didn't... He dared not even imagine what would follow.

When Risa-sensei reached his seat, he knew instantly from seeing her dejected look that he had failed. He felt his heart sink and his lips started to tremble. He willed himself not to cry.

''I'm sorry, Naruto-chan. You'll have to stay during recess so we can look over it together, okay?'' She gave him his copy. Seven out of twenty. It was a complete disaster. Risa moved on to the others and left Naruto to stare blankly at his grade. His seatmate looked over his shoulder to peek at his grade. Naruto tried to hide it, but it was too late. The boy smirked.

''So, the fake Uzumaki failed again?'' the brown haired boy laughed meanly at him. Some other students, who had been close enough to here, joined him. ''No surprise there.'' Naruto clenched his fists angrily, eyes watering in anger. The Fake Uzumaki. That had been his nickname since it became known that he, Uzumaki Naruto, was the deadlast.

''Uh? Naruto failed again?'' Another kid sitting somewhere behind them said, then he turned to his cousin. ''Hey, Akane-chan!'' the boy called out. ''Come over here!'' Naruto stayed perfectly still, glaring at nothing in front of him. He tried to listen to his teacher's advice: to try and ignore the others, to not let them get to him. The boy and his cousin, both with brilliant red hair, looked smugly at the poor blond child. Both, like Naruto, were members of the Uzumaki clan. The girl snatched the exam from him and snorted.

''Wow, that's bad!'' Uzumaki Akane said before showing it to her cousin. ''Look, Hideo-kun.'' The red haired boy burst out in laughter before looking at Naruto, arms crossed confidently in front of him.

''You should go back to Konoha with your dad. Your real mom's probably there anyway.''

Naruto's shaking instantly stopped. He looked up, wide-eyed, not believing what he had just heard. They could insult him, treat him like the most putrid trash, but insulting his family like this? Naruto refused to ignore it.

''I hate you!'' Naruto growled and jumped over his desk to deliver a punch to his cousin's face. Akane gasped in horror. ''Don't talk about my mommy like that!'' Angry tears streamed down his cheeks freely as he raised his fist to throw another punch. Before he could hit the boy again however, Risa gripped his hand solidly and pulled him away.

''Enough!'' she said firmly. ''I don't tolerate fights in my classroom, Naruto, and you know that,'' she scolded the blond boy, who tried to struggle out of her grip but with no avail. ''And _you_ ,'' she said to the boy still on the ground, literally seething with rage. ''I can't believe you would say something like that about members of our own clan.'' The boy cowered under his teacher's intense glare. Naruto's situation was getting out of hand. She knew kids could be cruel, but to say something like that about Minato and Kushina's relationship... she simply couldn't believe they would go this far.

''You're going straight to the principal's office,'' she told Hideo, who did not dare to protest. She turned to the girl. ''And you will spend recess in Aimi-sensei's class. I'll see to a proper punishment later.'' She dismissed the class and sent them early for recess. Beside her, she saw that Naruto had calmed down, but was still clearly affected by it all. She couldn't blame him, though. Ever since school had started, Naruto had experienced nothing but failure and rejection. The boy was sitting quietly on the floor, tears falling down at a steady flow. She sighed heavily and picked the blond boy up, trying to cheer him up. Looks like she would have to write a letter to Kushina. This couldn't go on any longer. Hopefully, she thought, Naruto's parents, who knew him better than anyone else, would be able to find a solution.

OoOoO

''This is unacceptable,'' Kushina breathed out angrily as she slammed the letter and test results down on the dinning table. Naruto, sitting at the other end of the table, was looking down shamefully with tears threatening to fall. Minato, sitting on the side, was looking warily between his wife and son.

''What does it say?'' Minato asked anxiously.

''Apparently,'' Kushina said darkly through our teeth. ''kids at the academy have been picking on Naruto because he's failing on his Kobun tests.''

 _Ah, the Kobun,_ Minato thought. Literally meaning Ancient Writing, the Kobun was an old alphabet only used in Uzushio village and strictly for sealing. It is one of the many elements that kept their infamous sealing techniques a secret from outsiders. It was an extremely complex alphabet with more ideograms and meanings than he could count. It also explained why they started the academy at five; a year earlier than most academies of other ninja villages. The first two years were spent solely on calligraphy and vocabulary training, which would then be used for their fuinjutsu techniques.

The modern writing was a much, much more simple version of it and had been around for several centuries now. Barely anyone outside of Uzushio knew the Kobun even existed. Minato had had to learn a good chunk of it himself when he started studying in Uzushio; it was this alphabet that he had used for his Hirashin marking, which was very different from the second hokage's own simple design. Minato's seal was much more intricate, hence the difficulty he was having perfecting it. If he succeeded however, he had no doubt that his seal would surpass even the Nidaime's original technique. Uzushio seals weren't notorious for nothing.

''Those brats,'' Kushina seethed. ''I'll have a good talk with their parents. They'll regret this.'' The fire in Kushina's eyes and her Kyuubi-like hair spoke volumes of her intentions. She was especially angry knowing Naruto's worst bullies were fellow Uzumaki. Minato nodded in agreement.

''No!'' Naruto protested heatedly, taking his parents by surprise. ''Don't do anything, please. They'll laugh at me even more.'' Kushina sighed in defeat.

''Still, Naruto, this can't go on. While I disapprove of the other children's behaviour, you can't go on failing like this. I'm sorry, but you'll have to stop training with your father until you can have at least a passing grade on a vocabulary test.'' Both blonds' eyes widened in consternation.

''Wait, Kushina, I don't think this is-'' Minato wanted to protest be he was cut off by the outburst of his son.

''No! I don't want to! This is unfair!'' Tears were falling down freely on his face, but there was clear anger in those normally so soft blue eyes. ''I hate school... it's stupid.'' Naruto broke down into sobs again, hiding his face in his arms resting on the table.

''Naruto-'' Kushina started warningly; he wouldn't get away with tears this time. Minato decided it was time for him to intervene.

''Kushina, calm down. Please,'' Minato said as kindly, yet firmly as he could. Kushina looked like she was about to blow up at him too, but she decided to refrain herself. ''You too, Naruto,'' he said as he turned to his son. He put his hand on Naruto's hair, meaning to comfort him, but his son pushed the hand away. The five year old sat up from his chair and rushed his way out of the kitchen.

''Naruto, come back here! We're not done talking to you!'' Kushina shouted out after him and was about to go fetch him when Minato stopped her.

''Let him be. We need to talk alone anyway,'' Minato said calmly. Kushina shot him an angry look, then sighed.

''Right. We do.'' Kushina returned to her seat at the end of the table and crossed her arms looking expectantly at him.

''Kushina, I know you insist on studying the Kobun with him, but... Naruto certainly isn't a slacker. I'm surprised he hasn't passed a single test yet. I really don't think spending more time studying it will help. It will only make him more frustrated. Rather, don't you think the problem might be... the way he's being taught?'' Minato chose his words carefully; he knew it wouldn't help to accuse Kushina or the academy teachers directly. Still, that didn't keep Kushina from looking positively offended. Before Kushina could lash out at him, Minato continued to explain himself.

''Think about it, Kushina. It's just like when you were teaching him arithmetic last year. Naruto is a kinaesthetic learner. He learns by doing and seeing the relationship between the material and real world application. If all he does at school and at home is sit around reviewing the Kobun characters and copying them, he's never going to learn regardless of the time you spend with him.''

Kushina's entire demeanour changed at her husband's words. She felt thoroughly chastised.

''You're right...'' She sighed, looking down at her lap. ''I just did what my mother did with me and her mother before her without considering Naruto's learning style.'' She looked up at him again, suddenly becoming frustrated again. ''But I can't exactly bake recipes and cut out pies to teach him the Kobun like I did for math, you know?''

''True.'' Minato stroke his chin pensively for a second. ''But maybe...'' he trailed off, considering some solutions he had been thinking about.

''Maybe...?'' Kushina urged him to continue.

''Maybe you should teach him some basic seals.'' Kushina's jaw dropped.

''What? Are you out of your mind? It's way too early! Not to mention, he needs to know the Kobun to make seals, you know? Who knows what's going to happen if he makes mistakes? It's way too dangerous.''

''Under close watch it wouldn't be dangerous, especially if he just practices the strokes without using chakra to pour into them, though I think you should allow him to; it'll be much more motivating. What I'm trying to say is... if you teach Naruto some seals, he'll be able to truly see the purpose of his learning. I'm sure making links between the characters, their meanings and their effects on seals will help him memorize the Kobun.''

''Um...'' Kushina took all the information in and pondered on it. ''You're right,'' Kushina sighed in defeat at last. ''I'm a horrible mother.'' Minato chuckled at Kushina, ever the over-dramatic one.

''You're not. You're the best!'' Minato cheered. ''I got practice, I suppose... Naruto just reminds me so much of Obito...'' The thought of his deceased student suddenly made Minato's face twist in sadness.

Kushina rose from her seat to join her lover and wrapped her arms loosely around him. The gesture warmed Minato's heart.

''I know I said I'd take care of Naruto's fuinjutsu tutoring and you'd take care of the physical training, but I think it'd be good for both of you if you replaced me from time to time.'' Minato grinned up at her.

''I'd like that.'' Kushina grinned back.

''I'll go get Naruto and tell him the news. That's bound to cheer him up.''

''Naru-chan, come back now.'' Kushina called out in the hallway towards Naruto's bedroom door. After a short moment of waiting, the concerned mother went to the door when no reply came and tried to open it but failed. It was locked. She knocked on it a few times.

''Naru-chan, are you in there? Come on sweetie, answer me.''

''Don't come in!'' Kushina's eyes widened, taken aback by Naruto's outburst. She would probably have gone into Habanero mode if it hadn't been from the trembling of Naruto's voice.

''What's the matter, Naru-chan? Are you hurt?''

''No. Please... Go away.'' The weakness and desperation in Naruto's voice was breaking Kushina's heart. There was no way she was going to let Naruto alone like this. She pushed on Naruto's door with all her strength, effectively pushing away the chair that was leaning against the doorknob to lock it.

''Naruto!'' Came Kushina's panicked shout as soon when she saw her son. This, of course, caught the attention of Minato, who came rushing upstairs as soon as he heard the scream. Minato nearly let out a shout of his own when he saw his son. He, too, had at first mistaken the dark red liquid for blood, but the distinctive colour and smell had kept him from letting it out.

''What on Earth happened?'' Minato came rushing by his wife's side, who was checking a crying Naruto over for injuries. Fortunately, there were none.

''Is that beet juice?'' Kushina asked with utter bewilderment when she ran her hand into Naruto's now deep red hair. There was also a bit of juice everywhere; face, clothes, arms, even on the floor. Naruto didn't provide his mother with an answer, too busy crying. Though it's not like his parents needed a confirmation anyways.

''I-I'm sorry...'' the child sobbed.

Kushina exchanged a concerned look with her husband.

''I'll go prepare a bath,'' Kushina said before getting up and moving out of the room.

''Why did you do that, sweetie?'' Minato had his suspicions, but he wanted to hear Naruto's explanation.

''It's...'' Naruto wiped out his tears and sniffled a few time. ''My cousins at school… They say I'm not a real Uzumaki. They say mommy's not my real mommy.'' _Just as I thought_ , Minato kept his sigh for himself. Uzumakis, whether closely related or not, tended to refer to each other as cousins. Minato knew there were a few in Naruto's class. He had hoped the kids wouldn't exclude their own cousin for something as silly as hair colour, but he was proven wrong. ''Everyone laughs at me 'cause I have bad grades. They say it's because I'm an outsider... I Just... I just want them to accept me.''

''I can't believe this,'' came Kushina's voice, who had just gotten back from the bathroom. The pain in Kushina's eyes was clear. Risa's letter hadn't mentioned that; she wondered why. ''Who said that, Naru-chan? Who told you I wasn't your real mommy?'' Naruto didn't want to say it, but after much encouragement from his dad, he finally spilled out the name.

''Hideo...'' Kushina's eyes went wide with disbelief, but soon narrowed angrily. ''That's it, I'm going over to Chie-san's place tonight.'' Chie was Hideo's mother. She was Kushina's great-cousin. ''For now, get in the bath. I don't want the beets to stain your beautiful blond hair.'' That last part of the statement brought an unreadable look into Naruto's eyes. He looked at his father, then lowered his gaze and nodded.

Much to the little family's horror, the beet juice had been there long enough to leave a light pinkish colour in Naruto's hair. That did nothing to calm the little boy's sobs. However, Kushina couldn't let Naruto go without a good scolding. Naruto had brought this upon himself; acting recklessly and thoughtlessly instead of consulting his parents. Even though Minato agreed with her, he couldn't bring himself to participate in the reprimand. Instead, he just kept washing the boy's face and hair. _The colour will probably take weeks to fade completely,_ he thought to himself _._

By the time they finished washing Naruto, the boy was barely able to keep his eyes open. After a quick dinner, they decided to put Naruto to bed early, seeing as all the emotions and crying had tired him out.

''That conversation with Naruto isn't over. You should talk to him about it too, no just me.'' Kushina often accused Minato of being too soft with Naruto, and even of spoiling him too much. He had to admit it was true; he had never been good with the discipline part of raising Naruto. That had caused a fair share of fights between him and his wife, who was tired of having the 'bad role'. Minato sighed in defeat.

''You're right. I'll talk to him in the morning. He never thinks before acting, and he has to learn that it isn't necessarily the best way to deal with his problems.'' Kushina nodded firmly in agreement. ''I have a feeling he won't want to go to the academy tomorrow. Maybe I'll be able to convince him to go.''

The two lovers continued their talk in the living room for a while before Kushina went over to Uzumaki Chie's house. Minato asked if she wanted him to come along, but she declined, saying she'd rather take care of it herself and talk mother-to-mother.

Minato decided to go in his office to work on his Hirashin jutsu. Lately, he's been trying to have it combined with kunais, but standard kunais were too light for the purpose of the jutsu. As he drew some sketches for a personalized model, he was interrupted by the sound of light baby steps coming his way. His smiled fondly, then looked at the time. _What's Naruto doing up at this time? And have I been working for that long?_

''What'cha doing, daddy?'' came the tired, but curious voice. The now strawberry-blond boy was half hidden behind the door, waiting for permission to come in, as he had been repeatedly instructed when Minato was working. Minato gestured for him to come closer. Naruto wasted no time and hopped into Minato's welcoming arms.

''I'm working on my special technique.''

''What's it called?''

''Well... I call it the 'Super Flashy Flying Thunder God Dynamic Turbo Style' jutsu, but people think it's too long, so they just call it the Flying Thunder God jutsu.'' Minato smiled at Naruto's shameless giggling and ruffled his hair.

''You always have weird jutsu names.'' Minato shrugged nonchalantly.

''Being like everyone else is kinda boring.'' That would be a nice introduction for his talk. ''My weird jutsu names is part of what makes me unique and special. Just like your blond hair.'' The last part made Naruto sober up quickly. He looked down in shame.

''I'm sorry...''

''I know.'' He smiled. ''It's over now.''

''But, I didn't want to make you sad, you know?'' Minato smiled at the verbal tic his son got from Kushina. Though he wasn't sure what his son meant by hurting him.

''Make me sad?'' Naruto hesitated and looked away from his father's face, searching for his words.

''I like daddy's hair too, not just mommy's.'' _Ah, I hadn't even looked at it this way._ Of course, it had never crossed Minato's mind that Naruto had dyed his hair because he was ashamed of his heritage. Naruto wasn't even capable of thinking like that, that much Minato knew. Naruto must have realized his dad might have taken it the wrong way, being the only two blonds in the entire village, and had regretted his actions.

''I know you didn't mean to make me sad, don't worry.'' He reinforced the statement with a light peck on a soft whiskered cheek. ''Just remember what I told you. Make people accept you the way you are. Prove them wrong; work hard and show them what you can do. You'll see, they'll all want to be your friend.'' Naruto's eyes were tearing up, but they were also very determined. It was a very endearing sight.

''Alright, let's get you back to bed.''

OoOoO

The following weeks had been hard, but had paid off in the end. Naruto got some more teasing from the other kids because of his new hair colour, but Naruto managed to control himself. It also helped that Kushina and Minato had talked to the teachers and the other kids' parents.

It turned out that teaching Naruto some basic seals worked wonders. Slowly but surely, Naruto's creative mind drank on the intricate patterns of the seals and old ideograms. Naruto always became excited and uncommonly motivated when Kushina made little demonstrations of how the seals worked. In a matter of months, Naruto went from the bottom of his class to the very top. It was impressive to say the least.

Soon, Naruto became familiar with enough seals that Kushina and Minato made him try to activate the seals with his chakra by himself. At first, his defective chakra control kept him from doing so. Ever the ingenious sealmaster, Kushina designed a chakra-recycling seal specifically for Naruto, which worked solely when activating low-level seals and was situated at the back of his neck. When Naruto used too much chakra, the seal would store it; and when he used too little, the seal would activate itself and release some of the stored chakra. It worked wonderfully.

Minato and Kushina might have gotten a little too permissive though, considering Naruto's character, because the little cunning thing started using those seals to pull pranks at schools. It earned him a good scolding and no ramen for a month (it could be dangerous, after all!), but it also gained him the childish respect and admiration of the other kids in his class.

Naruto's sudden progress with seals didn't go unnoticed by the teachers at the academy, of course, and rumours went all the way to the clan leader himself.

One sunny afternoon, master Hiroto invited himself to tea at the Uzumaki-Namikaze house under the pretence of catching up on the little family. Well, it was true, but it was only part of the reason he came.

''Would you mind if I tested Naruto-chan's knowledge of seals? It won't take long,'' the aged man asked kindly. The young couple exchanged a surprised look, but agreed immediately.

''Of course. He's playing in his room; I'll go get him.'' Minato said, rising from his seat.

''Where's your sandbox, Kushina-chan?''

''Ah, this way.'' Kushina smiled politely and led him into a small anteroom just beside the backyard and garden.

The master sat in front of the small sand box, a must in all seal masters' household, and waited patiently for the two blonds to arrive.

''Hello, Hiro-jiji-sama!'' Naruto greeted excitedly, sitting beside the old man. His parents sweat dropped at Naruto's attempt at respect, but the clan leader simply chuckled and grabbed the long wooden stick beside the sandbox.

''Hello, Naruto-chan. I just want to ask you some questions.'' Naruto nodded. The wise old man quickly carved out a simple seal in the sand.

''Do you know this seal, Naruto-chan?'' Naruto nodded again, more firmly this time.

''Yeah! It's a locking seal. I used it to lock all the bathrooms at the academy,'' Naruto snickered mischievously at the memory. Kushina face palmed. Hiroto didn't seem to mind though; he simply smiled and rubbed the sand smooth with a short wooden broom then carved in a new seal.

''This one?''

''Ah, I know this one too! It's a storing seal.'' Naruto didn't hesitate to give the answer; it was one of the most common ones.

''And this one?'' Naruto furrowed his eyebrows tightly together, eyes becoming thin like they usually did when concentrating hard. He turned to his mother.

''Mommy, isn't that like the seal you put on me?'' Kushina's jaw dropped, genuinely impressed Naruto even remembered what it looked like. She had drawn the chakra recycling seal and explained it quickly to him before putting it on him. It wasn't exactly the same, since Kushina had adapted it to Naruto's needs, but it was a chakra-recycling seal nonetheless. Minato, sitting on the side, seemed equally impressed.

''Yes it is! Very good, honey!'' Kushina praised. Hiroto nodded in approval. He rubbed the sand smooth again and carved a more complex seal.

''How about this one?'' Hiroto's voice was deep, but gentle. Somehow, it made Naruto feel at ease. His expression turned pensive again. He stroked his chin almost comically, then shook his head.

''I don't know. What is it?''

''Why don't you try to guess? What are the Kobun characters that you know in this seal?''

''Well...'' He extended his small arm and pointed at one of the characters. ''This one is means 'Earth'... and this one is like... 'strong' I think... And I don't know the other one.''

''Very good. The last one means 'bind'. Can you guess what it's used for based on this?''

Naruto scratched his head, brows tighter in concentration. After a short internal debate, he exposed his theory.

''Is it like, you're tied up to the ground? And you can't move?'' The three adults exchanged an amused look. The child wasn't far from the truth; after all Naruto was too young to know the concept of gravity.

''Something like that. It's used in physical training,'' Hiroto tried to explain in simple terms so the small blond would understand. ''If I put this seal on my legs, they will become very heavy. Trying to walk or run becomes hard, but you get stronger with practice and move more easily. It's exactly like using weights, but seals are a lot more practical and almost limitless. I'll show you. Get up on your feet, please.'' Naruto readily obeyed. He was always up for a little demonstration. Hiroto applied the seal, using his chakra ink to inscribe it.

''Try to move your right foot.''

''I can't move it! Woah!'' Naruto moved his left, then tried his right again with all his strength, but it stayed firmly on the ground. ''This is so cool! Teach me, teach me!''

''Please,'' Kushina corrected instinctively.

''Please!'' Naruto added. Hiroto chuckled and ruffled the little boy's hair.

''I'll teach you when you're older, okay?''

''I can't wait to be older!'' He punched the air with determination. Hiroto chuckled and rose from the ground and looked at the boy's parents.

''If you consent to it, I would like you and Naruto to join my weekly tutoring sessions.'' Minato blinked in confusion and looked at his wife for answers. Her wife's eyes were literally sparkling with happiness.

''Really?! What an honour! And Naruto is so young. Thank you so much, Hiroto-sama!'' Kushina bowed deeply, full of gratitude. Minato awkwardly did the same. He didn't know what this was all about, but he didn't want to seem ungrateful.

''Yes, thank you!'' he said hurriedly. _Guess I'll be learning something new again_ , Minato thought. He had been married into the clan for years now, but he still hadn't discovered everything about this prestigious clan. Naruto just looked at all three of them, blinking cutely.

The adults settled the day and time on which the weekly meetings would take place. The clan leader stayed for a bit more tea and small talk, and left. Kushina then proceeded to explain what the tutoring sessions were to her two favourite blonds.

Uzumaki Hiroto always made it a point to keep clan traditions alive, one of them being the tutoring sessions conducted by the clan leader himself. The clan leader, since generations before, would select promising children from the clan and meet them every week for one hour. The clan leader usually chose his pupils around age six so they were mostly done learning the Kobun, but apparently Naruto was among the few younger students the man had taken in during his long life. In the Uzumaki clan, it was considered vital for the leader to keep track of the clan's talented children and share with them their extensive knowledge and offer them guidance.

Needless to say, the two blonds were quite excited by the prospect.

OoOoO

\- - - Konoha, back to the present - - -

''Iruka-sensei.'' The teacher looked up from his desk, stopping his tutoring session with Naruto short. Both he and Naruto turned to see Sasuke standing at the door, hands casually buried in his pockets. ''You might want to see this, sensei,'' Sasuke said before sending an unimpressed look at Naruto. The blond tried his best not to burst out laughing; he didn't want to spoil his sensei's surprise.

''What's wrong?'' Iruka blinked, rising from his seat and walking towards Sasuke.

''Not sure how to explain it,'' Sasuke replied simply, though in truth he just couldn't be bothered to do it. He also had to admit he was curious to see how their sensei would react. Naruto tagged along; he wouldn't miss it for the world.

''What the hell?!'' Iruka cried out when they reached the training ground. The wooden dummies, all fifteen of them, had been painted to look like Naruto. Iruka felt a vein pop angrily on his forehead. He also noticed most of the students had paint stains on them.

''I'm terribly sorry about this, Iruka-sensei,'' said an uncomfortable-looking Gai. ''When I saw the dummies, I figured I could still have students train; I didn't want to waste teaching time, but as soon as the students started hitting the dummies, they got splashed with paint. I don't understand how this could happen.'' Iruka was literally shaking with rage.

''Oh, I think I know.'' He sent a glare towards Naruto, who laughed sheepishly. ''And you certainly don't need to apologize, Gai-sensei,'' Iruka continued, not braking eye contact with Naruto. ''Rather, I think _Naruto_ should be the one apologizing.'' _Wow, he's even scarier than Kenichi-sensei_ , Naruto thought. The blond boy turned to the Green Beast and bowed deeply.

''I'm very sorry for causing you trouble, Gai-sensei.'' Still bowing, he couldn't help but send his dark haired friend a triumphant grin. Sasuke rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless.

OoOoO

Naruto spent the rest of the morning cleaning up the dummies and deactivating the seals without the help of his shadow clones, as Iruka had ordered. It had been tedious to say the least, but absolutely worth it.

He finished just in time for lunch break. Iruka allowed him to join his friend under the condition that Naruto would stay after school in order to resume their tutoring session. Naruto felt guilty that Iruka had to take on his personal time to teach him, he'd be sure to thank him properly later.

After he and Sasuke came back from lunch, they noticed there was a message written in large letters on the board: _Team Project: groups of four only._ Naruto and Sasuke shared a glance and nodded to each other. They needed to find two more partners.

''Sakura, they're here!'' Ino whispered urgently to her fiend. ''We should go ask them!'' Sakura almost squealed when she saw her beloved Sasuke. The two hurried out of their seats and rushed down the small auditorium.

Sasuke felt a strong shiver down his spine. Having developed a sixth sense against fangirls, Sasuke turned and noticed the source of the creeping sensation; the infamous pink and platinum duo. There was no time to lose.

''Hey Chouji, Shikamaru,'' Sasuke called out with a booming voice. ''you're with us for the project.'' Naruto looked at his best friend and blinked. If this wasn't a command, then he didn't know what was.

Sakura and Ino stopped dead in their race, dejected. They sighed heavily and slowly when back to their seat. Chouji and Shikamaru, for their part, looked at the two boys at the front curiously. Both shrugged, signalling that they didn't mind and went back to what they had been doing; namely eating and sleeping respectively. Sasuke let out a small sigh of relief. The disaster has been successfully avoided.

''Take your seats everyone,'' Iruka called out to his students before passing out the instruction sheet for the new team assignment. ''This will be our last project before the graduation exams.'' Many student cheered, others groaned. Iruka chuckled at that; kids will always be kids. ''On the sheet I gave you, there are three different mission scenarios, all ending with you being surrounded and outnumbered by enemies. Choose one scenario, whichever you prefer, and come up with an offensive team-combo to escape the enemy. You will demonstrate your technique to the class and hand in a report to me the day of the presentations. In your report, I want you to explain how you came up with the combo, why you think it is effective and explore possible weaknesses and alterations. Any questions?''

''Wow, that sounds pretty cool!'' Naruto whispered enthusiastically to his friend. Sasuke simply nodded, not particularly impressed nor thrilled.

''I'm letting you off until genjutsu training to start working on your project, so if you choose to leave the school ground, make sure you come back here before three o'clock.''

Upon Naruto's request, the strange quartet went brainstorming for the project on top of the Hokage monument. Looking at the sleepy-looking Shikamaru and Chouji shamelessly devouring his chips, Sasuke wondered if they really were a better choice than the girls.

He shuddered at the though and promptly chastised himself for actually thinking that. Images of squealing and clingy girls bombarded his brain. Of course they were a better choice.

''Well,'' Naruto, unsurprisingly, was the first to break the silence. ''maybe we should start by telling each other our moves and stuff, you know?'' The other three nodded understandingly; Naruto was still relatively new and he had missed so many sparing sessions for tutoring that he wasn't at all familiar with the other students' signature techniques.

''I think everyone here knows what I can do,'' Sasuke replied since he often fought with Naruto outside of school.

''What a drag this project will be,'' Shikamaru sighed heavily then stood up on his feet. He invited Naruto to do the same. Curious, Naruto complied without a word. ''Shadow Imitation Technique,'' the Nara boy muttered, trapping Naruto into his expanded shadow. Shikamaru moved around a bit; raising an arm or a foot, thus forcing Naruto to do the same.

''Wow, that's sick!'' Naruto exclaimed enthusiastically. Shikamaru scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. He wasn't used to people complementing him so earnestly.

''It's nothing special,'' he said humbly. ''It's my clan's most common technique.''

''That's the most common one? Wow, I can't imagine what the other techniques are like. That's awesome!'' _Well,_ Shikamaru thought, feeling his cheeks tickle slightly, _so much for trying to be modest._

''My turn,'' Chouji said in between his mouthfuls of chips. ''Expansion Jutsu!'' Chouji turned awkwardly to the forest behind them. The sight did not fail to make Naruto laugh, who tried his best to muffle it with his sleeve-covered hands. ''Human Bullet Tank!'' Chouji charged straight towards a tree in a massive rolling ball and easily broke the tree down.

''Cool!'' Naruto cried out, impressed with the chubby boy's technique. It surprised all three Konoha ninjas wannabes how easily and genuinely impressed Naruto was.

''You've never seen techniques like these before?'' Shikamaru asked out of curiosity. Naruto shook his head.

''Nope. My whole village specialized in fuinjutsu. There weren't any clan-specific techniques like that. Just seals and elemental jutsus, you know?'' The others seemed surprised by the particular piece of information. ''Some clans were better at some stuff than others... like the Seiwa clan and their weapons... or the Otori clan who were known for being able to infiltrate anywhere they wanted... but still, every clan's primary focus was on seals.''

''How about you show us some of your sealing stuff, then?'' Chouji asked, bringing everyone's attention back to their assignment.

''Hm...'' Naruto gripped his chin between his fingers pensively, reviewing some of the jutsus he knew. ''Well, I guess I have two jutsus that would be really useful for the assignment.'' He got up and put his fingers into a cross sign. ''Shadow Clone Jutsu!'' He grinned and ten more Naruto puffed out of dust clouds. All eleven of them sent the Konoha nins a confident thumbs up. ''We're solid clones, not just illusions, perfect to counter an ambush!'' All ten clones said in unison. Shikamaru raised a brow then smirked lazily. Looks like the assignment would be a lot easier to do than he first thought.

''And your second one?'' Sasuke asked, curious to see if it was going to be any of the ones he had witnessed before. When he saw Naruto's wide smirk, his curiosity deflated. He raised an unimpressed brow at his friend. He had seen enough of that smirk to know that it only meant Naruto was going to do something stupid.

''Watch this!'' Naruto grinned and stepped away from his clones, intending to use them to demonstrate his technique. He performed a series of hand signs, so fast, Sasuke was barely able to make out their meaning. ''Sealing Art: The Blessing of Buddha!''

Chakra ink gathered into his palms and Naruto charged at his clones. He effectively dodged each of their taijutsu attacks and tagged them with his seal on their forehead. Soon, all ten Naruto-clones were trapped under the spell and they all sat in a position to meditate with hands raised in prayer. Their expression melted into an almost trance-like stupor, drool dripping disgracefully from their mouths. Needless to say, the sight was ridiculous.

Chouji burst out in laughter while Shikamaru and Sasuke just stared. What the hell was wrong with that guy? What kind of stupid technique was _that_?

''I created this one myself, you know!'' Naruto said, pride lacing his cheery voice. Why wasn't Sasuke surprised? ''It seals away all violent intent for a while. Pretty neat, huh? I sometimes use it on myself when my dad wants me to meditate. Can't do it without that brilliant technique of mine.''

Sasuke facepalmed violently.

''Well, it's pretty impressive despite it being stupid,'' Sikamaru said after recovering from his shock.

''Hey! It isn't stupid!''

''It neutralizes the enemy without harming or restraining him,'' Shikamaru said, pointedly ignoring Naruto. ''I didn't know sealing could do something like that.'' Naruto grinned at that.

''Binding, explosive tags, absorption, storing, barriers, curses or blessings... you name it! Just tell me what kind of effect you want the seal to have and I'll take care of it,'' Naruto said proudly as he cast away his clones. He joined his friends and sat on the ground to close the circle. He blinked when he saw the serious expressions of his teammates. Shikamaru was looking especially calculating. He blinked, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable.

''Something wrong?''

Shikamaru continued to stare at Naruto, then glanced at Sasuke for a moment. It just didn't make sense for such a village to be wiped out in such a short amount of time. It was like the Uchiha massacre; a whole clan, and one of the most powerful ones, eliminated in a matter of hours. But the Sharingan, he knew, had been defeated by another powerful Sharingan. It was no secret to Konoha that Itachi, the village's most wanted traitor, had been a genius without equal. He turned his gaze back on Naruto, who was blinking cluelessly. He might not be allowed to relay any information about Uzushio's foe, but that didn't mean Shikamaru couldn't have his own theories about it.

''I suppose it makes sense that only Fuinjutsu would be able to beat Fuinjutsu.'' Naruto froze, not sure he was getting what Shikamaru was trying to say. Sasuke, who had followed Shikamaru's gaze, however, quickly caught on.

''True. Only another Sharingan wielder could have done something like that to my clan,'' Sasuke spit out grudgingly. Naruto's eyes widened in realization. His breathing became uneven and erratic, making the other three boys worry.

''Only... another... sealmaster...'' Naruto repeated, voice trembling. _No... it can't be true..._ Naruto rose to his feet and looked down to the ground. Flashes of the night of the attack came rushing to him. Their impenetrable barrier so easily broken... The release of the Kyuubi... ''It was an Uzumaki...'' Naruto breathed out, eyes still glued to the ground, but his mind miles away. ''It was an Uzumaki!'' he cried out suddenly, dread and disbelief clear in his look.

''Naruto...'' Sasuke said quietly as he got up, trying to offer some sort of support to his friend. Naruto snapped out of it and looked at his friends worriedly.

''I... I gotta go.'' Naruto turned around and began to sprint away from the little group. The others cried out to him, tell him to stop. ''Tell Iruka I'm skipping!'' he yelled out before disappearing down the Hokage Mountain, jumping on the engraved statues to reach the village. Shikamaru stared, guilt gripping tightly his insides.

''I just assumed...'' Shikamaru trailed off. He had assumed that, if he was right, that it would have been a known fact to Naruto, but apparently not. He cursed his mind and his big mouth. This was exactly why he didn't like using his intelligence. He always uncovered ugly truths. The distressed look on Naruto's face... He had said it so nonchalantly too...

''You guys go ahead. We've still got twenty minutes. I'll bring Naruto back in time for genjutsu practice,'' Sasuke told his two remaining teammates seriously. Shikamaru and Chouji knew better than to protest with _that_ look on Sasuke's face. The black-haired boy didn't even let them answer; he just flew after the blond seal user.

Naruto released his gravity seals and flew at full speed towards his house. He searched it quickly, screaming his father's name, before getting out of it. If he wasn't home, he was probably on a mission.

Minato had decided to go back on duty, though he only took minor D or C-ranked missions that were within the village borders or were dealt with within a day. He wasn't ready to leave his son alone in the village, and he probably wouldn't be for a long time.

Naruto rushed to the Hokage tower. With any luck, his father would be there to give a report or to be assigned another mission. He ignored the faint voice of Sasuke calling out to him not too far behind and entered the building. He climbed up the stairs three steps at a time and kicked the door open. He took a second to catch his breath and noticed, much to his relief, that his father was indeed there, waiting for the chuunins at the desk to assign him a task.

His entrance, however, had interrupted that. All adult ninjas stared at the blond boy, who was breathing heavily. Minato stared at his son for a second, then frowned at the boy.

''Naruto? What are you doing here? You should be in class.'' Naruto stood silently for a moment as if bearing himself for what he was about to say.

''I-It was-'' Naruto began, voice trembling from both anxiety and laboured breathing. He cursed himself for not being able to speak properly. Taking a deep, calming breath, he tried again. ''an Uzumaki. Or more. They _had_ to be sealmasters,'' he said finally.

Minato frowned deeply, seeing where Naruto was going with this. ''Let's take this to the Hokage.'' He said calmly and told his son to calm down. He looked over Naruto's shoulder to see a familiar face, who had just entered the room.

''Sasuke, tell Iruka-sensei Naruto will be missing class again. Apologize to him on my behalf.'' Sasuke nodded dumbly and looked on silently as Minato grabbed Naruto's arm and Hirashined out of the room.

''What was that all about?'' One of the chuunins at the desk said, staring at where Minato had stood just a second ago. Sasuke clenched his fists tightly in frustration, then sighed in defeat. As much as he detested this feeling of helplessness, he would simply have to accept it and wait for Naruto when he would need him.

OoOoO

It hadn't taken any sort of explanation for Hiruzen to understand that he'd have to delay his meeting with his son Asuma when he saw Minato appear with a shaken-looking Naruto in toe.

It took a while for the boy to regain true composure, but he did eventually and told the two shinobi about his conversation with his teammates. Minato and the Third exchanged a wary look. Minato closed his eyes, trying to think of the best way to say what he was about to admit. Naruto was convinced of what he had told them and despite the fact that clan member would do this, it was still one step closer to the truth Naruto was desperately searching for. Destroying that hurt Minato deeply.

''We've considered that as well...'' Minato told his son gently, sitting beside him on the couch beside the Hokage's desk. ''Unfortunately, our investigation wasn't conclusive.'' Naruto stared at his dad, not really understanding how his father could say this.

''But...'' Naruto began to protest, but he was at loss of words. How could it be otherwise? There had to be an Uzumaki among the enemy!

''Uzushio has never had any missing nin, precisely because they didn't want their secret techniques to be used against them. Traitors have always been executed.''

Uzushio's policies on traitors had been by far the least forgiving of all shinobi nations. The few who had managed to leave the village had been promptly hunted down and killed. No traitor had lived long enough to even start plotting something of a magnitude such as the destruction of the village.

''We've also investigated the backgrounds of all the seal masters that were alive before the attack,'' Hiruzen joined in. ''None of them are Akatsuki-material. Your uncle Jiraiya has made a lot of research too about the Akatsuki. It doesn't look like an Uzumaki is part of the organization from what he found.''

''But it's just not possible... Who else could break our barrier like that? Or destroy mom's Jinchuuriki seal? Or temporarily block our fuinjutsu?'' Minato bit the inside of his cheek nervously. He completely agreed with Naruto, but there just wasn't anyone in Uzushio who fit the Akatsuki profile.

''Listen...'' Minato said softly, trying to comfort his son, but stopped himself when he saw Naruto's expression suddenly change.

''Ah!'' Naruto cried out, his eyes flashing red. Booming, ominous growls within sent a piercing pain to his head. Naruto clutched it, desperately trying to numb the pain.

''Naruto!'' Minato said worriedly. It didn't seem like the Kyuubi's chakra was taking over thanks to the seal he placed on his son after his fight with the Hyuuga kid, but it was still worrisome to see it manifest itself thus, even for just a second, on Naruto's features. ''What's wrong?''

''He- he's talking...'' Naruto said through his teeth before his vision completely blacking out. Minato eased Naruto's fall and lay him down on the couch. He swallowed thickly, knowing exactly what was going on. This was Jyuubi's first time contacting Naruto. He looked worriedly at Hiruzen, thinking they should have a Yamanaka come over so he could face the Kyuubi with his son, but he knew it would take too long. He damn well hoped the beast wouldn't hurt his son with foul lies or threats.

OoOoO

Naruto woke up in a dark alley of sorts with soiled water flooding the place. He shakily got up and noticed that his clothes weren't actually wet. He looked warily around him to see that the corridor was stretching out at both ends into dark nothingness. He dared not move nor speak. He had no idea where he was or how he had gotten there.

Another loud growl resonated through the walls, much louder this time. Naruto shivered, fear nearly suffocating him. He knew that growl. He had heard it so many times during that fateful night and had seen the horrifying beast that was releasing them. The last thing he wanted was to face the very being that had ultimately killed his mother. However, the tailed beast was clearly calling out to him. Why now? What did he want? Despite himself, Naruto wanted to find out.

He took slow, uncertain steps towards the deep demonic sounds. As he moved on, the dark alley cleared out and led the way to a large room. At the end of that room was an immense steal cage that was holding prisoner none other than the Kyuubi. The growls died down as Naruto finally approached the beast. The two stared at one another for what seemed like an eternity to Naruto. He couldn't even utter a sound, even if he had wanted to. His throat was clamped with fear so deep he could barely breathe.

 **''The presence I felt when the seal was destroyed was familiar. I felt the same many years ago, when I was still your mother's prisoner,''** the Kyuubi said unceremoniously. He had never been one for petty preambles or theatrics. **''I don't know who he is, but he is indeed from your clan.''** His voice was deep and ragged, dragging out each sound in a graceful yet menacing manner.

Naruto stared at the beast with utter disbelief. This was the last thing Naruto had expected the Nine Tails to say. Why would his mother's assassin tell him this? Why was he trying to help? Naruto startled when the Kyuubi let out a mocking laugh. Now deeply linked with Naurto's consciousness, the beast had no difficulty reading the boy's inner turmoils.

 **''Revenge, my boy,''** the Kyuubi answered. **''Just. Revenge.''** The word tasted delicious on the beast's lips, and he made sure Naruto understood that when he sharpened his eyes dangerously at Naruto. The blond boy trembled under the intense gaze, yet its blood-red colour was so entrancing that he couldn't look away.

OoOoO

Naruto came to himself with a chocked gasp and an urgent need for air. Now that he wasn't suffocating under the Nine Tails' killing intent, he could finally breathe. Minato and Hiruzen stood, unmoving, in front of the panting boy. They waited patiently for the small blond to calm himself. Neither pressed him to talk once he did.

Naruto finally met the two men's gaze and retold the Kyuubi's confession. Minato and Hiruzen exchanged a confused but also concerned look. Had they overlooked something? How was this possible? They had been so meticulous in their methods...

Minato's eyes widened when he suddenly realized... _Of course, the MIA list!_ Minato looked down to the ground, cursing himself for not thinking of it earlier. All those ninjas who had gone Missing In Action during the previous wars... It usually stood for ninjas who had fallen in combat but whose bodies were never found. Since there was no evidence of their death other than their complete disappearance, they couldn't legally label them as dead. Perhaps one of them truly was alive and had been somehow claimed by the Akatsuki.

Hiruzen, seeing Minato's look, knew right away that the older blond had uncovered something important. As he took a deep, relaxing breath into his pipe, the Hokage felt some relief in the thought that perhaps they would finally see through this tragic event.

''Let's go home, Naruto,'' Minato told his son gently when he saw the tired look on his son's face. All the adrenaline that had been released from the intense fear had finally died out and the blond was literally fighting against sleep. The little blond nodded quietly, much too spent to protest when his father picked him up. Naruto, once properly settled on his father's back, fell right into blissful sleep. Minato smiled fondly, then turned to Lord Third, switching to a more serious look.

''I'll look into some of Uzushio's war archives that I omitted. I'll let you know as soon as I find something.''

''Very well. Good luck.''

OoOoO

Minato, after he had put Naruto to bed, had quickly fixed a meal in case his son woke up from his sleep. The man then did not waste any time and went straight to his office, unlocking the high-level seal guarding the precious documents it contained. He took out the war archives he had brought back from Uzushio's famed library and began scanning the list of MIA shinobis.

The fact that Uzushio ninjas lived for so long complicated things. It doubled the possible candidates. On the other hand, though, Minato trusted that Kyuubi's words were true and that it truly was an Uzumaki. That certainly brought the number down, fortunately for him. If Kushina had interacted with that person many years ago, Minato assumed he could check most adults who had gone MIA during the first war off the list.

As he scanned the precious documents, Minato wrote down the names and information of each potential Uzumaki candidate for later research. Soon, he reached the Third War archives...

 _Uzumaki Kaede..._ Minato thought. _He was only two back then, so he'd be a young adult now. It's a stretch, but he could be a candidate._ He wrote down the name a summary of the circumstances of his disappearance then kept on reading. _Uzumaki Nagato, fourteen years old._ He stopped.

''Uzumaki Nagato...'' he repeated aloud. ''Uzumaki Nagato. Where have I heard that name before?''

OoOoO

\- - - Uzushiogakure: Eight years remaining - - -

Ever since Naruto came to life, it seemed Minato kept learning new things almost every day about the Uzumaki clan and the village in general. Seeing it from the perspective of a child and native of the village, Minato was constantly confronted with new realities of Uzushiogekure. One of those discoveries had come up during a quiet evening at home. Minato and Kushina had been sitting on the couch, snuggled against each other with a Naruto sleeping soundly, spread out over his parents' laps. Naruto had just turned four and, truth to be told, Minato was starting to worry about his son's health. Now seemed like a good time to discuss it with Kushina.

''Kushina... don't you think Naruto's chakra coils are developing too slowly? They should have completely matured by now, but...'' He trailed off, looking down at the sleeping blond. He passed his hand through his son's fine hair.

''You think so?'' Kushina replied, not even an ounce of concern in her voice. She performed a quick scan jutsu and ran a hand, radiating blue chakra, over her son's body. ''It looks perfectly fine to me.'' Minato's eyebrows shot high on his forehead. ''But I see why you would be concerned.''

''What do you mean?''

''As you know, people in our village have huge chakra reserves and we also live longer, so it usually takes more time for our chakra coils to develop.'' Minato nodded understandingly. It made perfect sense. ''It's not just that though. Some members of the clan argue it's our blood line, though that is debatable... Uzumakis have the potential to develop a unique type of chakra. The longer the chakra takes to develop, the more unique or stronger the ability will be.''

''Really? I didn't know that,'' Minato said, genuinely impressed. Kushina chuckled again.

''And yet, you know someone with this ability _quite well,_ '' Kushina said with a teasing tone. Realization dawned on Minato's blue eyes.

''Your chakra chains,'' he stated in awe. Kushina nodded.

''My chakra coils took seven years to develop properly. Naturally, my chakra control was totally screwed up because of that, but it paid off. I have the ability to control the Bijuus with my chains. That's pretty awesome, you know?'' She chuckled. ''And my sister's daughter.''

''Karin,'' Minato filled in. Kushina nodded.

''Little Karin is five years old now and she's still developing her chakra coils. It's a bit too early to say, but from the test they ran, our clan's medic nins think her chakra might have the ability to cure even life-threatening injuries instantly. They used her blood for transfusions and the results were outstanding.''

''Impressive,'' was all Minato could say. He looked back down at his little sunshine sleeping peacefully, so did Kushina.

''Yeah. Hiroto-sama also took pretty long to develop his chakra coils and you know his strength.'' Kushina smiled fondly at her son. ''Naru-chan's got your blond hair. Who knows what else he got from you, you know? So, I'm actually relieved that his chakra coils are developing so slowly. It means he's a true Uzumaki. If they weren't, it means that I would have outlived my own son. And I just can't accept that. That's just not how nature works.''

Minato could understand her fear. It was the main reason she had been a little reticent to begin a relationship with him, an outsider. People of the Village of Longevity lived on average 50 years longer than people from other villages, and Uzumakis usually lived the longest. So unless she died during a mission, which was out of the question in Minato's mind, he would leave his wife a widow for several decades. Watching her son die before her... Minato didn't even want to think about it.

This new revelation also explained Uzumaki Hiroto's unusual ability to steal chakra from his opponents. He remembered when he had first met the clan leader, Uzumaki Hiroto. He was 105 years old, but could easily pass for a healthy, fit 65 years old man. The elder was among the tallest men in the village. He looked imposing with his traditional armour and magnificent straight long hair, now white with age. Needless to say, Minato had been very impressed with the man.

''I just know our Naru-chan will be just as extraordinary.'' Kushina said with genuine candour, stroking the little blond's belly. Minato didn't say anything in reply. He knew, of course, that even if Naruto didn't develop some kind of special ability, it wouldn't disappoint Kushina or change her love for him. He knew his uneasy feeling was silly and unjustified... but he simply couldn't help it. Minato himself didn't come from a prestigious clan or family of any sort. He was an orphan and grew up completely free of expectations. Seeing other kids from clans such as the Uchihas or Hyuugas in Konoha had taught him that being born in such a clan came with its downsides. Somehow, Minato knew that Naruto would suffer because of his clan one way or another.

''What's the longest it ever took to develop chakra coils in your family?'' Minato asked suddenly, curiosity taking the better of him.

''That would by my mother's cousin's son, Nagato.'' Kushina suddenly became morose. She and Nagato had been almost the same age. He had been a shy, gentle kid. ''It took him eleven years for his chakra to reach maturity. We never got to find out what his special ability was however. Unfortunately, he died at around fourteen during the Third Shinobi War.''

Minato looked to the ground in silence. The pain of the Third War was still fresh in everybody's heart.

OoOoO

Uzumaki Nagato.

Minato stared down at the name he had just written down on his list. The age, the talent, the potential for destructive chakra... if he was truly alive today, Uzumaki Nagato would be in his prime. He underlined the name twice. He was the best candidate so far.

He clenched his bamboo nib tightly until it broke in his hand. He didn't pay any heed to the ink that was staining his skin.

Whether it was him or another Uzumaki, Minato did not care. He would find out and kill whoever had caused his family's doom.

* * *

There, the new-second chapter! As I said in DLB, you probably noticed I made alterations to the timeline; i.e. third war happening earlier, Minato developing his Hirashin later… I basically down-powered Minato so it would make more sense for Uzushio to get destroyed despite him actually living there (you know, the guy who disseminated armies in seconds? haha) and also for later plot details.

I hope you enjoyed!


	3. Filled With Love I

**IMPORTANT NOTE FOR** _ **DON'T LOOK BACK**_ **READERS:** The chapters _Filled With Love I & II_ remained exactly the same except for one important detail: in this edited version, Konoha/Uzushio ninjas **do not** find out that Orochimaru was part of the Akatsuki. So if you want to skip those two chapters, that's the only thing you need to know.

 **About Minato:** Many of you worry about Minato's ''power down'', which I really should have called ''power delay''. Minato will reach his prime, he'll just reach it a little later. I did it so that it would be more realistic when the time comes for me to post the chapter about Uzushio's destruction . I hope you understand my reasoning and that you're not too mad at me. ;)

 **About pairings:** Many of you asked about pairings. The only pairings you will see in Silver Lining are MinaKushi and a bit of Tokuma with Risa. I'm not planning on pairing any of the Konoha kids for this story. Some canon crushes are preserved of course: like Sakura with Sasuke and Hinata with Naruto, others have been added (Ino and Naruto), but they're just that; childish crushes. Hope this answers your questions!

* * *

 **Don't Look Back**

 _Filled With Love_

 _(Part I)_

\- - - Uzushio: Five years remaining - - -

''You wished to see us, Hiroto-sama?'' Kushina said, entering the clan leader's office along with her husband.

''Yes. Please, take a seat. I have a mission for you two.''

In the Whirlpool village, similarly to Konoha, the strongest ninja of the village was chosen as their representative and administrator. Uzushio was too small a village to have a kage, and even if they could have one, they thought their affiliation to Konoha was enough. Regardless, it was very frequent for the Uzumaki clan leader to also be the village leader. It was quite a large amount of responsibilities, but with many decades of experience and battles in his history book, Hiroto wasn't fazed by the burden anymore. Plus, to help him run the village, he was aided by the village committee which consisted of the other clan leaders and many office workers.

Hiroto took out a heavily sealed scroll from his file cabinet and set it in front of the young couple.

''It is an extremely delicate mission, but I think you are the most qualified to take care of it,'' he said, looking directly at Kushina. He opened up the scroll after unlocking the seal and skimmed over it to better structure his retelling of the situation. ''The mission was requested by the Fourth Kazekage himself and is considered an S-class state affair.''

''S-ranked...'' Kushina whispered with some disbelief, looking at her husband. The latter looked back with a more sober expression. There had been extremely few of those missions since the last war. At least, both Kushina and Minato had not gotten any for the last few years now, and they knew for a fact that clients usually trusted Konoha more with these missions. Unless, of course, they had to do with seals... Hiroto nodded, his expression grave and serious.

''It stopped being a village secret the moment the Kazekage hired us for this mission, so to come down to this, I suspect the situation is much worse than he is letting on in his request,'' Hiroto sighed heavily. Minato and Kushina were now very pressed to know what this was about but did not say anything. They waited for their leader to clarify.

''Ever since the Ichibi's first Jinchuuriki was locked away in Suna, it's never been clear what became of the tailed beast. It was revealed to me in this report that the beast is now sealed in the Kazekage's own son, who's about Naruto-chan's age. However, the seal seems to have been poorly performed; Shukaku practically controls the boy and is both killing civilians and Suna shinobis. He requests that Uzumaki sealmasters be sent to... correct the situation. Those are his words.''

Hiroto pressed his lips tightly together. He knew of the Fourth Kazekage's budding reputation. The harsh environment of Suna, the decline in economy and military forces the village was facing along with his wife's death... All this, Hiroto supposed, had forged the man into a cold and pragmatic leader.

''The poor boy...'' Kushina said. She and Minato shared a look. Minato had a deep frown on his features while Kushina was much more transparent about how terrible this situation made her feel. The fact that the boy was Naruto's age probably made her much more sensitive to Kazekage's son's case. Hiroto closed his eyes for a moment.

''I suppose it must be hard on the Kazekage's pride to reveal this information to an old enemy village and ask for our help. He probably meant his son to become a powerful weapon to strengthen his village, but that obviously backfired at him.''

''Turn his son into a weapon? That's disgusting,'' Kushina spit out, clenching her fists tightly. The other two men could only agree.

''Indeed...'' Hiroto closed the scroll and set it aside. ''As you can imagine, this is an extremely delicate situation. I know the Shodaime, with the help of Mito-sama, distributed the tailed beasts among villages as part of his treaty of peace, but we all know how well that went. Since the Kazekage obviously meant to turn his own son into a heartless weapon, I am not very comfortable with the thought of sending you to 'correct' the seal to make his plan work. However, to refuse would be an offence which could come back and hunt us in the future.'' Kushina raised a sceptical brow at that.

''It's not like he could declare war on us for that, and his village certainly isn't in a state to fight us.''

''True, but I would rather avoid creating any animosity between us and other villages.'' Minato nodded at that. He shared his leader's view on the matter as well. ''If I send you there and have you temper the seal in a manner that will keep the boy from ever being able to use the One-Tail's power, the Kazekage, of course, will accuse us of trying to diminish his village's power. So we cannot do that either.''

''Man, it really is tricky,'' Kushina groaned, scratching her head in deep thought. Something else Naruto had inherited from her, Minato couldn't help but think.

''Do you think it would be reasonable to modify the seal so the boy can only access the beast's full power at a certain age or in a certain state of mind?'' Minato asked, thinking of how they could avoid all possible drawbacks. This would be an extremely hard feat to accomplish; it would require a level of strength and complexity for the seal that has probably never been seen before. It was one thing to apply restrains for a seal locking away an object, a jutsu or a human being... but for a tailed beast, it was another matter entirely.

''That is precisely what I was thinking,'' Hiroto nodded to the blond man. ''The Kazekage hasn't attached the seal design to his request, which is understandable. So you'll only be able to know for sure what you can do with it once you're there. Regardless, like you suggested, it would be best if we only let the boy have limited access to Ichibi's power until he is of age. Additionally, if you could redesign it in a way that he cannot draw the beast's full power when in a state of rage or other such feelings, perhaps it would help our cause.''

''Hm...'' Minato frowned at that. He held his chin in his finger, thinking over this plan. ''If the Kazekage plans on turning his son into a murderer, then I am not sure it would be of much help. He might not feel anything as he kills, so he won't have any difficulty summoning the Ichibi's power then.''

''Yes, that is true. You are very insightful, Minato-kun.'' Hiroto couldn't help but smile. His village was lucky that such a man had pledged his allegiance to their village, now almost a decade ago. ''This is exactly the reason why I assigned you to this mission along with Kushina-chan. Not only are you as much of an accomplished seal master as my best clansmen, but you are also very clever. With Kushina's expertise on Jinchuuriki seals and your insight, I have no doubt you will carry this mission successfully and find a reasonable solution for the seal.''

Minato bowed deeply to his leader, genuinely flattered the man thought so highly of him. He couldn't help but smile a little bit childishly. Kushina looked just as proud of her husband.

''The Kazekage is expecting my chosen sealmasters to arrive in Suna within two weeks from now. That leaves you about a week to study jinchuuriki seals and prepare for the mission. It isn't much, especially since we don't know what the seal looks like, but it is still better than nothing. Since this is such an important mission, I will grant you a limited access to the Hidden Library.''

Both Minato and Kushina's eyes grew big with excitement at the prospect. Only the clan leader and very few select others had access to the Library. It was an honour of the highest nature and an opportunity that will probably never present itself again.

''It will grant you access to the all notes on sealing techniques relevant for this case. I hope it will be of use to you,'' Hiroto said, applying his personalized key-seal on their hands to unlock certain sections of the Library.

''Thank you for entrusting us with this, Hiroto-sama.'' Kushina bowed solemnly. Her husband did the same.

''One more thing,'' Hiroto added, causing the two to look back up at him again. ''I think this is a good opportunity for us to make a political statement. Our village is stronger and more prosper than ever since the wars. Same goes for Konoha. Our village could do well with a little more respect and even _fear_ from the other villages. We are not taken seriously enough and are not receiving enough foreign missions to my taste. Sending only two sealmasters should send that message to the Kazekage. Also, I would like you, Minato-kun, to wear your Konoha forehead protector for this mission. The Hokage agrees with this. The bond between our villages is strong; you two symbolize that bond in its strongest form.'' Minato unconsciously took Kushina's hand in his. ''It will benefit us if others see that we are still strong allies with a village as powerful as Konoha. Don't be afraid to show off a bit, is what I'm saying,'' Hiroto summarized with an almost cocky smile.

''Right!'' Kushina exclaimed, raising her clenched first in determination. Her fiery eyes dissolved when a thought struck her. ''Hiroto-sama... can we have your permission to bring Naruto along for this mission?'' Minato turned to her instantly. Both he and Hiroto were stunned by the request.

''I'm just thinking,'' Kushina continued with hands up defensively, keeping both men from voicing their protest. ''it would be good for Naruto to travel outside of the village. He liked the trip to Konoha so much... He wouldn't interfere with the mission, of course! It's just, well... He could be part of the showing off thing too, you know? Er... And it's summer break, so he wouldn't miss school...'' Kushina scratched her cheek and laughed nervously. She was trying to find a legitimate reason to bring Naruto along, but truth was there were none. Kushina simply wanted to have her precious son with her. This mission sounded like it could take a while and since it wasn't the kind of mission that involved travelling in dangerous territory or fighting unexpected enemies and such, bringing Naruto shouldn't be that much of an issue, technically speaking.

''Hm...'' Hiroto stroke his chin pensively. ''I suppose there would be no harm in bringing him along.''

''Yes!'' Kushina punched the air in triumph then caught herself. ''Um, I mean uh...'' She bowed, slightly embarrassed. ''Thank you, Hiroto-Sama.'' Minato chuckled at the sight of his ever energetic wife.

OoOoO

After a week of intense research and study, the young Uzumakis set off for Sunagakure. It was a happy coincidence that Jiraiya had decided to pay a visit on the same day Kushina and Minato had met with their leader; the Toad Sage stayed the week and kept an eye on Naruto while the two parents spent most of their time in the Hidden Library, seeing as they were not allowed to take any document out of the place. It was also fortunate that Jiraiya was not caught doing any of his own 'research' during his stay. Though Minato suspected that was thanks to Kushina and the epic beating she had given him when, during his last visit two years ago, he had tried to use Naruto's cute face as a chick magnet. Instead, Jiraiya spent most of his time doing some training with his favourite (and only) godson and even gave him a copy of his first book _Tales of a Gutsy Ninja_.

Naruto did vaguely remember asking his parents why they had named him Naruto, but he had been pretty small back then and didn't remember much. Seeing the book had reminded him. At a family dinner they had together the four of them, Minato had told Naruto, this time in more details, how they had decided on his name. Needless to say, Naruto thought it was awesome and had asked Jiraiya, with the support of his parents, to do a dramatic reading of the first chapter that night. That had him hooked and it was now Naruto's favourite book. Quite a feat, considering Naruto wasn't normally the type for recreational reading.

Now, their camp set out in the middle of the desert, several kilometres away from Suna, the two parents listened as their son read the book aloud to them. The simple scene was surprisingly moving for both Kushina and Minato. After finishing his chapter, Naruto put his bookmark in and closed the book before letting himself fall back onto the large portable futon, between his parents. The three of them silently looked up; the thick fabric that made up the roof of their tent was open so they could indulge in some stargazing. The desert, with its lack of lights and buildings, made the millions of stars stand out with exceptional beauty. After a while, Naruto let his fatigue get the better of him, and closed his eyes.

''I'm happy you're my parents,'' he said softly, keeping his eyes closed. Kushina and Minato exchanged an unreadable look; a mix of pure happiness and pride which melted into a sort of bashful expression.

''We're happy you're our son,'' Minato replied as Kushina leaned in to kiss her son's cheek, then he did the same. They watched, silently, their eyes fixed on their child, until the boy's breathing evened and his features completely relaxed.

It certainly wasn't the first time their son said something like this. While any children would express their love for their parents, Naruto had that habit of expressing it at a time and in a manner that caught them off guard and could sometimes nearly bring them to tears. If Kushina often teased Minato by saying their child had inherited his sensitivity, Minato replied that Naruto had gotten Kushina's habit of being too transparent and demonstrative of her feelings. Naruto was definitely a mix of the two of them, there was no doubt about it.

Kushina was absentmindedly stroking her son's soft hair when she finally noticed something different about him. For a while now, Naruto had leaked out less and less chakra. Though it was always in very small quantities, it was a common sign of a child developing his or her chakra coils. She noticed he was not leaking any. As if reading her thoughts, her husband performed a quick scanning jutsu and ran it over Naruto's body.

''His chakra coils have finally reached maturity and his reserve is enormous.'' Now that it was stabilized, it was a lot easier for Minato to see what his son's potential was in terms of chakra. It was impressive, even for an Uzumaki. Kushina smiled then did a quick calculation, counting the months on her fingers.

''Seven years and nine months. Almost exactly like me!'' Kushina exclaimed proudly. ''His chakra reserve is slightly larger than mine at his age. That's probably why it took a bit longer.'' Kushina said as she ran her own scanning jutsu.

''Do you think he might have inherited your chakra chains?''

''Hm...'' Kushina pouted in thought. ''I've never heard of an ability repeating itself within my clan, but I suppose we'll only know when Naruto manifests his, if he does have one.'' Kushina resumed her hair-stroking. ''Even though I took seven years for my chakra to mature, it took a couple more years until I manifested my chakra chains. It usually takes a strong triggering event for that.''

''A strong triggering event?'' Minato repeated with clear curiosity in his voice. He had just realized he had never asked his wife the first time she used her chakra chains.

''Mine was when Lady Mito sealed the Kyuubi into me. The second time I used them was during the third war; I used them to help my clan fight against the Five-Tails' Jinchuriki, who as you know is from Iwa.'' Minato suspected that had been instrumental to their victory.

''Did you-'' Minato stopped dead. He narrowed his eyes and concentrated his senses towards the faint presence he had just detected. Kushina, who knew her husband to be a sensor type, kept quiet as well. She nodded to Minato in a silent agreement; she would stay here with Naruto while he went out to search for the intruder.

Minato placed one of his special kunai beside their bed just in case and shunshined right out of the tent. Once outside, Minato silently moved towards the direction of the intruder. The latter was much closer to their camp than Minato had hoped; it had to be a ninja to be able to hide their chakra signature.

''Show yourself,'' Minato said in his most commanding tone. He didn't know if the intruder was an enemy or not yet. He did not take any chances though; he held his defence stance and held his kunai high, ready to respond to any attack.

Shurikens went flying in his direction. Minato deflected all of them with practiced ease. _Definitely an enemy._ He quickly threw his special kunai towards the moving sand-coloured shape. The enemy's camouflage skills were poor to say the least. Minato used his Hirashin and locked the intruder's neck into a strong hold of his arm, while his other arm brought another kunai to the enemy's face.

''Too easy,'' Minato said smugly.

The ninja, a rather large male around Minato's age, undid his camouflage jutsu. Minato's eyes widened in surprise.

''What's a Sound ninja doing all the way out here spying on us, uh?'' The Oto nin struggled to breathe; he brought his hands in vain attempt to pull off Minato's strong grip. Minato was not fazed. He dipped the point of his kunai slightly into the man's cheek, drawing enough blood to let the stranger know he meant business. It was his family he was protecting; Minato would certainly not play softie under those conditions.

''As if I'd tell you!'' the man's harsh voice managed to come out. Minato swiftly tied up the man's arms and swirled him around so he was facing him. He grabbed the man's collar and repeated his question. As soon as he properly saw his adversary, the Oto nin's face contorted into an ugly panicked face.

''The Ye-Ye-Ye-''

''That's right,'' Minato said with a smirk. ''I'm the Ye-Ye-Yellow Flash.'' Although he hadn't quite perfected his Hirashin seal yet, it seemed it was scary enough that he had gained a certain reputation along with a pretty cool nickname, if he could say so himself. ''Now answer my question. What are you doing here?'' The Oto nin stared unblinking, breath short with an imminent anxiety attack.

''Oh no you won't!'' Minato said when he saw the subtle movement of the Oto nin's jaw. Minato managed to hold the man's face enough that the latter wouldn't bite on his emergency poison capsule. Minato managed to make the man spit it out, but to do that, he had to let go of his restraining grip. The man wiggled out of Minato's reach. The man screamed shamelessly as he ran away, hands still tied up. Minato sighed and used his Hirashin to capture the man again.

''They never learn,'' Minato said calmly, shaking his head in disappointment as if he was talking to a child. Minato always placed his teleportation seal on the enemy as soon as they came into contact. Did he really think they could just run away from him?

''Don't touch me!'' the Oto nin screamed out. He managed to bring his tied hands together in a simple sign and he was able to activate another emergency jutsu, knowing he was done for. Minato stepped back as soon as the man immolated himself. The man screamed in pain as he was consumed by fire. Minato clicked his tongue in annoyance; it was not a pretty sight. He also didn't want his son to hear this screaming. Going through a quick series of hand sings, he performed a suiton jutsu to put out the fire. The man was petrified from the trauma and looked awful, but he was still very much alive. Minato walked slowly to the man, looking down at him with calculating eyes.

''What to do with you...'' Minato muttered under his breath, sighing at this inconvenience. They couldn't bring him along, of course. They certainly wouldn't hand a spy over to an ex-enemy village. They had to bring him to either Uzushio's or Konoha's I&T department. If they left him out here until another squad came to pick the oto nin up, who knew what might happen in between? Would he manage to run off, even if highly improbable in his current state? Or would he succumb to his injuries?

''This is very troublesome,'' Minato said, quoting an old friend of his, searching for some clues in his prisoner's burnt clothes. The man sounded like he wanted to sob, but was too injured and hurting to make out proper sounds. ''You must have some pretty big secrets to hide, to set yourself on fire like that,'' Minato told the man nonchalantly as he continued his search. ''Ah-ha! What's this?'' Minato took out a damaged scroll from a hidden pocket. The scroll was obviously sealed, but that would be no problem for him and his village. Rather, it would be the partially burnt information that might serve as the challenge. There didn't seem to be any other significant item on the man other than weapons.

''Alright. I guess that's that.'' Minato performed a quick doton jutsu and created a deep square hole into the ground. He disposed of all of the enemy's weapons, sealed him up and covered his mouth to make sure the Oto nin wouldn't kill himself. He grabbed the groaning man's foot and threw him unceremoniously into the pit. He hid the improvised prison before closing it with a thick cover of sand and placed a locking seal on top. There should be enough air in there for the man to survive until a squad from Uzushio arrived; they'd find him with a seal detection jutsu and would probably bring him over to Konoha for interrogation since it was one of the Leaf's specialties. Minato then summoned one of his young frogs.

''Yo, captain!'' Gamakichi appeared in a small cloud of smoke. Minato smiled and handed the scroll over to the frog who extended his tongue and swallowed it right in. It would preserve the scroll from further damage.

''Bring this over to Hiroto-sama and tell him to send a retrieval squad for a prisoner I hid right here.'' Minato gestured towards the hidden prison. Minato continued to brief the frog on what happened and gave him specific instructions as to what to do next. Once the frog disappeared, Minato went back to his tent where he found Naruto fully awake and in his mother's arms. The little blond smiled brightly at the sight of him, seemingly relieved to see his father without even a scratch on him.

''Dad! You're okay!''

''Told you,'' Kushina smiled. The blond boy had been really alarmed at the sudden screams of pain that had brought him out of his sleep. Kushina knew it wasn't Minato and had told his son that much, but Naruto still had a lingering fear up until now. Minato sat beside him and ruffled his hair.

''An Oto-nin was spying on us,'' Minato told Kushina; the details would have to wait once Naruto was out of hearing range.

''Oto? That small new village?'' Minato nodded. Otogakure was an entirely new village that had seemingly popped out of nowhere. They had started hearing about it only a few months ago. It was his first time meeting a ninja form that village. He was not impressed. ''Why would Oto, of all villages, want to spy on us? Do they know about our mission? That seems unlikely...'' Minato nodded again. Naruto looked curiously between his parents, deeply interested in what was happening. It really was a real, actual mission after all! The way his parents had originally described it to him, it hadn't sounded very exciting.

''I have no idea. We'll have to wait for the T&I forces to be done interrogating him. The Oto-nin was surprised to see me there. So I think it's safe to assume he wasn't spying on us specifically. Rather, maybe he was sent to spy on Uzushio's activities in general... or maybe, like you suggested, Oto knows sealmasters were sent to the Kazekage and they want to know why.''

''Where's the enemy ninja now?'' Naruto asked. From his father's words, the nin was still alive but nowhere to be found.

''Hidden,'' Minato replied simply with a wink.

''Well...'' Kushina said, stretching her limps and getting up. ''I'll take the first watch, so you can go to sleep, honey.''

''Thanks,'' Minato smiled, taking off his jounin vest and sandals. He gently grabbed his son's shoulder and got them comfortable beneath the covers of the futon. Kushina watched the scene with a tender gaze. Minato had grown very strong in the last couple of years. Gaining a family was the motivating push Minato needed.

OoOoO

They arrived in Sunagakure late afternoon the next day and went to the hotel they had booked for the night. They were scheduled to meet the Kazekage the following morning, so they simply enjoyed a copious dinner (a nice change from the field rations) and a nice bed. Early in the morning, the three of them got ready for their meeting. The Kazekage had been informed by Hiroto that the seal masters were actually a married couple and were coming with their child, so he had invited all three of them to meet his own family. Keeping in mind that she had been allowed by her leader to show off, Kushina had brought a simple, but elegant ceremonial outfit for the occasion.

''You look so pretty, mom!'' Naruto exclaimed cheerfully when he saw his mom coming out of the bathroom. She was wearing an outfit that was eerily similar to Mito's own; a subtle message that emanated strength and stability. The only differences were that the obi and longer kimono she wore under the white one was a darker shade of green and that she had arranged her hair differently. She had a crown-like headdress much like Mito's and she had tied up half of her long hair into a single bun at the back, letting the other half fall freely against her shoulders. In her bun, she had planted six long, large golden chopsticks, disposed like a fan. The two at the extremities had paper seals hanging, again, a reminder of Mito's (and the clan's in general) specialty. She had even put on some thin black lines around her eyes and a bit of red on her lips. Her pale skin and magnificent red hair brought out the effect quite nicely. Makeup was definitely not something Kushina particularly liked, but she still enjoyed indulging in it for special occasions, if only to see Minato's blushing fish face. Speaking of which...

''Kushina...'' Minato never failed to be awe-struck by his wife's beauty. While he, of course, found her beautiful in any kind of garments, seeing her dressed like this brought out an air of grace in her that was simply stunning. An irrational part of him was jealous of the Kazekage who was, apparently, a worthy man enough for her to dress up like this. Unable to resist the sudden possessive feeling inside of him, Minato took a few steps forward and captured his wife's lips in a chaste but tender kiss.

''Ewww... gross,'' Naruto said childishly, covering his eyes with his hands. His parents chuckled.

''It's okay, we're done,'' Kushina laughed.

Naruto took his hands off his eyes and smiled broadly.

''You look like a queen!'' There was a strange glint in Kushina's smiling eyes that suddenly made Naruto feel nervous.

''I'm glad you like how I look, sweetheart, because I brought a matching outfit just for you!'' Kushina cheered and all but ran to her luggage to take out a much smaller, but very similar outfit. Kushina was almost squealing at the prospect.

''Eh?!'' Naruto's voice was full of surprise and disbelief. He stormed in the opposite direction, hoping to escape from his mom, but Kushina was quick to capture him. Minato sweatdropped at the scene. He knew his wife was always looking for an excuse to dress up her son. For someone who didn't care to doll herself up, Kushina was surprisingly fussy over her son's appearance.

After long minutes of screaming, protests and suspicious crashing noises, Naruto finally came out of the bathroom with his mother, impeccably dressed. Minato smiled at the sight of his beautiful family, butterflies fluttering in his stomach from the pride he felt. Naruto looked particularly adorable with his pouty expression.

''So cute, Naru-chan!'' Kushina squealed, hugging her son tight with her cheek glued to Naruto's.

''I look like a girl,'' Naruto was torn between feeling upset or just plain embarrassed.

''No, you don't,'' Kushina laughed shamelessly at her son. Children up to a certain age looked fairly androgynous and Naruto, with his golden hair, wide blue eyes and his mother's face, was no exception. The whiskers on his face only added to the charm. The outfit, even though adapted for little boys, was not particularly masculine either. All traditional outfits in the Uzumaki clan were more or less gender neutral.

The kimono was almost identical, though the secondary colour was orange instead of green as it was Naruto's favourite, and ended at the knees. Under it, Naruto wore puffy pants over which he had mid-shin boots made of thick fabric. It had the typical Uzumaki long sleeves and instead of the headdress, Naruto wore a simple hat with the Uzumaki symbol embroidered around it and two thick strings going down on each side of his face with two paper seals. Minato had to agree with his wife; their son was adorable.

Minato, for his part, was glad he was spared the whole get-up ordeal. Going in as a Konoha ninja of no particular clan, he could afford going dressed in his simple jounin uniform.

OoOoO

The little family was escorted by a special force squad directly from their hotel to the Kazekage's private domain. There, they entered a spacious, soberly decorated room at the end of which stood the Kazekage dressed in his kage robes and three children at his side. At the far corners of the room, there were four jounins standing as guards. Minato and Kushina instantly noticed the ominous aura around the youngest one; an indifferent, if maybe a little tired, looking redhead. The Jinchuuriki, without a doubt. The two older ones were on the other side of their father and were probably standing further away than necessary. They looked nervous and uncomfortable. As for the Kazekage himself, it was hard to tell since almost all his features were hidden by his robes and mask, but his eyes showed much the same expression as his youngest's. Naruto suddenly felt very small and more than a little tense.

Kushina and Naruto lifted up their hands, always hidden in their sleeves, and inclined their head forward for the traditional Uzumaki wushu salute. Minato went for a standard bow, arms immobile at his sides.

''Welcome,'' Subaku no Rasa said curtly, not bothering to return the bow. This was not a meeting for diplomatic negotiations, but a highly paid mission. He did not feel the need for useless civilities. ''This is my eldest, Temari.'' He lifted his chin towards the blond girl, who nodded politely. ''This is Kankuro.'' The boy did the same, but seemed to lack some of the confidence his sister had. ''And Gaara, the Ichibi's Jinchuuriki.'' The redhead stayed perfectly stoic, eyes fixed on nothing in particular.

''I am Uzumaki Kushina, Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi,'' Kushina said in an even tone that took Naruto off guard. He had never seen his mother look so serious and calm. His mother was so full of energy at home, he had sort of assumed she would be the same on missions, but apparently not. He was humbled and felt a little guilty for assuming.

''This is my husband, Uzumaki Minato, and my son, Uzumaki Naruto.'' At the mention of her son, Kushina gave a soft smile to the small blond. Naruto smiled back at her kindly, feeling a little more comfortable now.

Though he did not show it, the Kazekage was surprised to learn that the Kyuubi container was married to none other than the increasingly popular Yellow Flash. He knew of both shinobi's reputations on the field; the fearful chain wielder and great seal master Uzumaki Kushina and the flee-on-sight Uzumaki or Namikaze Minato, depending on the sources. Rasa speared their child a look. He looked no older than six and seemed perfectly inoffensive. However, Rasa was no fool; the boy was bound to become a formidable shinobi.

''I will have one of my trusted jounins stay with the children while we discuss the details of the... issue at hand.''

OoOoO

They listened to the Kazekage explain Gaara's circumstances. The original sealer was a retired shinobi, a certain old lady named Chiyo, whom, according to the Kazekage, was the best fuuinjutsu user in the village. It was clear, however, that her mastery of seals was rudimentary compared to that of the Uzumaki Clan. The Kazekage had reproduced the seal on paper for them to look over. Both Minato and Kushina were surprised to find how bad it truly was and were already dreading what could possibly be done with the seal in such a state.

The Kazekage also explained the 'tests' Gaara went through. Kushina thought this, when looking back on it, would probably end up being the hardest part of the mission. Minato could tell it was taking all of her wife's self-control not to latch at the man for the obvious neglect and psychological abuse of his son. Uzumakis were not known for their diplomatic skills, that was for certain. Still, Minato was impressed she managed to only express her disgust with a disapproving scowl on her face.

''Gaara's latest failure was the murder of his uncle Yashamaru some months ago. He and Gaara had a deep bond, deep enough to keep Shukaku in check, or so I thought.'' The two Whirlpool ninjas narrowed their eyes; they didn't like the sound of this latest piece of information. ''I ordered Yashamaru to kill Gaara; he failed of course, and Shukaku took control over Gaara. It could have been catastrophic had I not intervened early enough.''

Kushina, unable to stand it any longer, slammed her hands hard against the table between her and the Kazekage. The cups of tea, from which none of them had sipped, lost balance and spilled their content. Nobody gave heed to it. Minato had his fists clenched firmly together. Rasa did not even flinch at the display. The Kazekage knew Hidden Leaf to be a sensitive bunch of wimps -it was a wonder they were so strong- but he had not known Hidden Whirlpool to be the same.

''How ironic that your son has 'love' tattooed on his forehead,'' Kushina said after taking some deep calming breaths. ''The very first Jinchuuriki, our esteemed Mito-sama, taught me what the true strength of all Jinchuuriki was.'' The Uzushio nins could tell by the slight widening of his eyes that the man was suddenly very interested in what she had to say.

''Love,'' Kushina said simply. There was a long silence that followed. The Kazekage had reverted back to his deep frown. At last, the man gave a small snort.

''I did not hire you to hug my son into submission.'' Kushina's glare sharpened. ''I hired you to strengthen his seal so he can have better control over Shukaku's powers. His emotions are too volatile and Shukaku's influence impairs his judgement. The beast uses this weakness to manifest himself.''

''And I will. However, you will have been informed. There is no seal, no matter how powerful, that can cure a broken heart. A solid, healthy mind provides better control, but you have bought on your own village's decline by treating your son like this.''

''Kushina...'' Minato said quietly, worried his wife had gone too far. He agreed whole-heartedly with her and if anything, he admired that she had the guts to say it. However, making such declarations could bring animosity between their villages, and Kami knew it took less than that to bring villages at war.

''Hn.'' The Kazekage did not seem impressed by the redhead's criticism. ''We'll see about that.''

Their conversation was abruptly interrupted by a loud explosion coming from another room. All three experienced shinobis rushed to its source. Just as they feared, it came from the room in which the children had been brought. The scene that greeted them struck pure fear in Minato and Kushina's core.

Naruto was being held captive by a blond man whose hair was done in a high ponytail and who had a black cloak with red clouds on it. If their sources were correct, this was the trademark outfit of the Akatsuki, an new organization they had only heard about recently. Minato and Kushina could not believe their misfortune. Of all the days the Akatsuki decided to make their attack on Suna, undoubtedly to get the Ichibi, it had to be when they were visiting there. The blond man was not alone; there was a redhead as well. They supposed they were lucky there were only two of them.

''Stupid kid,'' Deidara muttered under his breath as Naruto struggled vainly to get out of the older blond's grip. He had meant to capture the red-haired kid, but this little brat just had to jump in and be an annoyance!

''Dad! Mom!'' Naruto screamed, obviously relieved to see his parents show up.

''Release my son right now!'' Minato cried out in his most threatening voice. He took out one of his tri-pointed kunai and went into a fighting stance. The Kazekage joined his jounins who had moved protectively around the Kazekage's three children. Kushina had been so angry to see her son in this position; her pupils were now red and slanted like the Kyuubi's. She radiated with beast's ominous chakra. The two members of the Akatsuki shared a quick look.

''It seems we'll get both the Ichibi and the Kyuubi today,'' Deidara said smugly and threw one of his explosive clay figures towards the Uzushio nins while Sasori went straight for the Kazekage and his jounins.

Minato hirashined out of the way while Kushina stayed firmly in place. She performed a quick series of hand signs and opened her arms wide, chakra ink enveloping the budding explosion before it even had time to make any damage and compressing it into a small locked sphere.

''What?!'' Deidara exclaimed. Before he knew what was going on, he was knocked out on the ground, the blond kid no longer in his arms. Minato reappeared beside his wife, his son unharmed and secured in his grip.

All the while, Sasori tried to get past the Kazekage, but the man used his gold dust to effectively put out one of his puppets. Some of the Kazekage's jounins launched at him, but Sasori was much stronger than them. He used another of his puppets to knock them all out. The Sand ninjas fell to the ground, squirming in pain from the poison slowly eating away the flesh within their bodies. Rasa's eyes sharpened at that. He could not afford losing more of his shinobis. He willed his gold dust towards the puppet.

Minato had never seen his wife looking like she did at that moment. She rarely used the Kyuubi's chakra and here she had instantly resorted to it. Her anger had obviously taken the better of her and was slightly affecting her control over the beast within her. She was running towards Deidara, still on the ground. Minato had knocked him out with his Rasengan, but he was impressed the man was still alive after the blow. It spoke volumes of the Akatsuki's strength. Minato doubt they sent their strongest members on the retrieval mission too. Especially for this case; their target was, after all, the Ichibi, the weakest of the beasts, and was sealed into a mere child.

Above her right hand, Kushina was still holding the sphere with its seal makings constantly moving around the trapped explosion. Deidara's face twisted from pain to panic. He weakly got up on his feet again and flew away from Kushina. The latter stopped and extended out her left hand from which a chakra chain came out. It flew towards Deidara and pierced right through his ankle.

''Argh!'' the blond man screamed in pain. Kushina pulled on the chain and brought the man back down to the floor, then dragged him towards her.

While the Kazekage fought against his village's missing nin, he looked from the corner of his eyes the fight between his guests and the other intruder. He suddenly was seized by uncontrollable rage. _This_ was the strength he wanted his son to possess, but he was stuck with a nuisance instead. Uzushio, on the other hand, had the strongest of the Tailed Beasts and its container was formidable in her own right. He forced his focus back onto his opponent who was still holding his own against him. He refused to look weak in front of his guests. He latched his golden dust onto the redhead, but the latter managed to dodge his attack.

Kushina was about to plant her sphere into his opponent's stomach, but Sasori shunshined in time to gather his injured partner and get them out of the way.

''We are retreating,'' Sasori informed his partner hurriedly, running out of the building through the whole Deidara had made in the wall. ''We can't take on the Kazekage, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki _and_ the Yellow Flash. It would be suicide,'' he explained before Deidara could protest.

''You're not getting away that easily,'' Minato growled before delivering a powerful kick to Sasori's face, successfully separating the two. Minato had reluctantly put his son on the ground and had used the seal he had put on Deidara earlier to teleport to the enemies. Sasori fell to the ground, face bleeding heavily and half unconscious, while Deidara had managed to land on his feet further away from the Konoha nin.

''How?'' Deidara was dumbfounded. Then he remembered what he had heard about the blond haired ninja. He searched over his body for the Hirashin seal and found it on his arm. He took out a kunai and cut deep into his skin to literally peel the seal off him.

''Run!'' Sasori screamed to his partner. The Yellow Flash had grabbed the redhead's collar and was summoning another Rasengan with his free hand. Minato turned to look at Deidara who was escaping out of the neighbourhood. He let Sasori fall to the ground, knowing the redhead couldn't go very far in his state, then used Hirashin to catch the other fugitive. To his surprise, he landed in a small pool of blood and saw a rather large piece of flesh with his seal on it. _Hm... Nobody had tried that before. I guess I just found out a new weakness I need to rectify._

Meanwhile, Sasori desperately tried to escape as well, but he was suddenly imprisoned in the Kazekage's gold dust.

''I'll take care of this one,'' Rasa said. ''He is our missing nin, after all.''

Kushina and Minato dispelled heir respective techniques. Deidara was too far now to pursue the fight.

OoOoO

After Sasori was properly restrained, he was locked in Suna's most secure prison. The Kazekage, Kushina, Minato and their children moved to an undamaged room of the village leader's mansion and discussed the event. Minato and Kushina updated the Kazekage on the Akatsuki's goals. While the Kazekage had heard of the new group, he did not have a spy network as large as Jiraiya's. Minato kindly asked the Kazekage to share any information he was willing to give if they managed to get Sasori to speak; after all, they would certainly come back for them, both Gaara and Kushina. Deep inside though, Minato suspected the Kazekage wouldn't do them the favour, despite his promise to do so.

While they talked, Minato spared a glanced to the group of quiet children near them. Naruto still looked a little shell-shocked from the event, which was normal, but he certainly didn't like the look his son was getting from Gaara. Why was the boy looking at Naruto so intently? It looked practically murderous. Something must have happened before they arrived and he wanted to find out.

An opportunity to do so presented itself that very night. The little family had been sleeping in one of the Kazekage's guest rooms when some sand slipped under their room's door. Minato, sensing Shukaku's strong demonic presence, woke up and watched the little stream of sand make its way towards Naruto's bed. There was no intent to kill or harm behind this, Minato could tell, so he decided to wait and see. Beside him, Kushina woke sensing the presence as well, but he managed to silently dissuade her from getting involved.

''I'll watch. Pretend you're asleep. I'll explain later,'' Minato whispered. Kushina, who had complete faith in her husband, did as she was told. Minato did the same; he pretended to sleep. As he suspected, Naruto slowly woke up when he felt the sand brush his face and quietly tip toed to the door.

''Gaara-kun? What's going on?'' Naruto whispered quietly, not wanting to wake up his parents.

''Come,'' Gaara said simply. Naruto, the naive trusting child that he was, followed the redhead. Minato slipped out of the bed and quietly followed them, hidden in the shadows.

They ended up on the rooftop. Naruto looked up to the sky, a little smile on his face.

''Did you want to show me the stars? Do you like them?'' Naruto asked the other boy. The latter did not reply.

''What's going on? Are you okay?'' Naruto asked with genuine concern in his voice. ''Is it because of the attack? Are you scared? Don't worry, our parents will protect us! But just until we're strong enough to beat them ourselves, you know? Haha!'' he said cheerfully. His laughter died down when the young redhead still kept quiet.

Minato narrowed his eyes. He had his pointed Kunai in his hand and he had also placed a Hiraishin seal on Naruto earlier. He wondered why he had not done it before... then again, Naruto had never been in a situation of true danger before today and had never needed it. Naruto had sensed the seal, but did not say anything. He felt safer having it on him.

Suddenly, a man appeared beside him. Minato turned towards the intruder, surprised he had not sensed the man coming. The latter had short, dull auburn hair, a very forgetful face and was wearing a simple, black standard shinobi outfit.

''Interesting,'' the man said in a low voice. _That voice!_ Minato thought.

''Kazekage...'' Minato said in a low growl. It seemed the man was here for the same reason as he. Minato suddenly didn't like how this was looking strangely like another of his 'tests'. His son was _not_ going to be a test for the Kazekage's thirst of power. He meant to move and take Naruto away, but the Kazekage seized his arm.

''Don't intervene yet. I'll let you if Gaara displays dangerous behaviour, but until then, don't. If you cooperate, I will forget about your wife's inappropriate comment and will make sure Uzushio will benefit from more collaboration on my part.'' Minato bit the inside of his cheek in anger. He was being manipulated. He could disregard the man's request... he knew he could, but... He had to think of the village. Minato turned to look towards the two boys again. He was disgusted with himself for letting this happen.

''Why?'' Gaara said at last.

''Eh?'' Naruto blinked, confused.

''Why did you try to save me earlier?'' Gaara explained. His sand would have protected him anyway. It's not like he had needed it. _Ah, so that's what happened._ Minato thought.

''Well, I had to do something. You were just standing there while that creepy guy was about to get you! So I just jumped in, you know?'' Naruto smiled. It had been foolish of him, he had stood no chance, but he couldn't just stand and watch!

''But why would you do that?''

''Why not?'' Gaara frowned deeply at the reply. It made no sense. It was just as he thought; this little blond doll was stupid. He lived a sheltered life; lived in a lie. It made him angry... it made him want to kill the boy.

''If I hadn't, maybe something would have happened to you,'' Naruto continued. ''Wouldn't that have made your family sad?''

Minato shook his head at Naruto's naivety. He wanted to yell at him. _And what about us, your parents?!_ Minato wanted to scream. _What if something had happened to you?!_ Naruto either didn't think at all, or was simply entirely too selfless... probably both. He had just discovered that about his son.

''Why would they be? I'm a monster! Everyone hates me!'' Gaara was literally shaking with rage at this point, sand beginning to swirl around him. Minato was about to move, but the Kazekage stopped him again.

''Not yet,'' Rasa instructed. Minato cursed under his breath.

''That's not true!'' Naruto exclaimed. ''You're not a monster!'' The sand around Gaara fell to the ground. Wide green eyes were staring back at him. Naruto walked up closer to the other boy, a determined glint in his clear blue eyes.

''I am... They told me I am and I know I am.'' Gaara's voice was trembling and strangely quiet. The wound from Yashamaru's assault was still fresh in his heart. He had finally understood what he was that night. _A monster._ Who did this boy think he was, telling him otherwise?

''You're not... That's why my mom and dad are here. They'll fix your seal and you won't accidentally hurt people anymore. It's not your fault you hurt them.''

This time, it was Rasa's turn to look sharply at Minato. Just how much of their mission had they shared with their son? Reading the Kage's look, Minato filled in the answer.

''Naruto's own mother is a Jinchuuriki. He is aware of everything that entails and has even studied his mother's seal before. He is perfectly capable of understanding your son's condition and so we decided to explain him what our mission was. You, however, don't seem to have bothered explaining to _your_ son what's wrong with him,'' Minato said, returning the other man's glare.

''I want to hurt them,'' Gaara replied stubbornly. Naruto's eyebrows raised high on his forehead.

''That can't be true... Mom told me people can be scared of Jinchuurikis sometimes and can be mean... but you don't really want to hurt them, do you?''

Gaara clenched his fists tightly together, looking down at the ground. It might have been true before... but ever since Yashamaru, whom he thought had loved him, he knew nobody would ever care for him. So why should he not want to hurt them?

''You want them to stop being afraid of you... to love you, right?'' Gaara's wide eyes shot back up at Naruto.

Minato's heart melted. His son could be a real mystery sometimes. Just like now, he would show reckless behaviour one moment, and the next he was surprisingly clairvoyant and compassionate. Naruto had a way with words sometimes that just had the ability touch people's hearts... Minato fervently hoped he would be able to touch Gaara's own armoured heart. Maybe there was still a chance; the boy was so young...

Gaara brought a trembling hand to his scarified forehead. It was like Naruto's words made the wound hurt like the night he had engraved the kanji on his skin.

 _'There is only one thing that can stop heartache... It's love.'_ Yashamaru's voice resounded in Gaara's head.

 _'Love? How can I receive that?'_

''Plus, it's not like nobody loves you...'' Naruto said softly, trying to ease the pain Gaara was feeling.

 _'Gaara-sama... you already have it.'_

''I don't know much about brothers... but I can tell Temari-chan cares about you!''

 _'I think my sister really loved you.'_

Gaara froze. He looked at the blond boy.

''Temari... cares about me?'' Gaara could feel his eyes start to sting. ''No! No!'' Why was he feeling like this? He swore to himself he would never care again. He had never been loved... Yashamaru had told him that!

''She does!'' Naruto insisted. ''I can tell because she looks at you the same way Karin-chan looks at me!'' Naruto said with unwavering determination. Gaara stared at him, tears gathering at the corner of his eyes.

''Oh, Karin-chan's my cousin...'' Naruto clarified, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. ''But she's like my big sister, you know? Sometimes big sisters act tough and like they don't care, but they do, I swear! I think Temari-chan's the same age as Karin-chan too... Karin-chan's nine. How old is your sister?'' Gaara blinked, taken aback by the sudden question. Frankly, he wasn't even sure how old his sister was. He rarely ever saw her, let alone talked to her.

''I... I think she's nine too.'' What was he saying? Naruto walked close to Gaara and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Rasa's eyes grew impossibly wide.

''The sand... didn't reject him?'' he whispered to himself with disbelief. Minato looked at the man with a small, but proud smile.

''He's opening up a bit, it seems. Kushina wasn't kidding when she said Jinchuuriki have to be loved in order to be truly strong.''

''Come on, we should probably go back to sleep,'' Naruto grinned. Gaara was still stunned.

''I don't sleep,'' he replied simply. Naruto blinked, then realization dawned on him.

''That's probably because of the seal, right? Don't worry, my mom's gonna fix that! Still, we should get going. I don't want mom and dad to find out I sneaked out, you know!'' He laughed before taking Gaara's hand to lead him back inside.

Gaara stared at their linked hands... nobody had held his hand since Yashamaru. He looked back at the blond boy's innocent face. He would betray him too, wouldn't he? He would try to kill him, him and his parents. His father had hired them for that, right? He clenched his other hand over his heart.

Deep down, he wanted to believe that maybe... maybe he could be loved after all.


	4. Filled With Love II

**Many many thanks for the alerts/reviews!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Don't Look Back**

 _Filled With Love_

 _(Part II)_

''Sasori.''

The missing nin woke up with a shiver at the sound of his name. He had been captured on his first Jinchuriki retrieval mission. How pathetic. With his incompetence, he had brought shame on the Akatsuki. He doubted their leader would easily forgive that. Still, he wondered what was worse: to die from the leader's hand after his potential escape, or to die under capital punishment in his native village. He would have to debate this later; the Kazekage had decided to grace him with his presence. He looked up and saw Rasa, barely distinguishable with his robes and the darkness of the prison. Bright gold dust rotated menacingly around the man, but Sasori did not let that intimidate him. When you were under Pain's command, nearly everyone else looked perfectly unimpressive.

''You will tell me all there is to know about your group,'' Rasa ordered much in the same way he would have ordered him, had he not been a missing nin. Sasori smiled.

''I didn't know you had a sense of humour, Kazekage-sama.'' Sasori thought the ridiculous reply befitted the ridiculous request, but the Kazekage didn't seem to agree with him. He felt the gold dust creeping into his clothes and infiltrate his articulations. In this predicament, he could easily be taken apart in an instant. Sasori stayed unshaken. The Kage would be a fool to kill him without having revealed any information. Did he really think this kind of petty display of power would work on him?

''So does your organization. You seem to think I will let my most powerful weapon leave this village.''

''A weapon which you can't even control.'' Rasa smirked, though it was hidden behind his white mask.

''This small technicality will be taken care of shortly.'' He walked closer to the cell. In the dim ray of light, Sasori could see a rather off-putting glint in the Kazekage's eyes.

OoOoO

Minato and Kushina stood behind a half-opened door from their provided office to their room. Their son was working quietly on a practice scroll which Hiroto-sama had given him to keep the boy busy during his trip.

''I was incredibly stupid,'' Kushina whispered, eyes locked on her only son. Minato turned worried eyes on her. If Kushina was to call anyone stupid, it should be him. He had been the one who let Naruto get involved in one of the Kazekage's twisted tests. ''You and Hiroto-sama were right. I shouldn't have insisted on bringing Naruto along. Naruto was supposed to enjoy himself and learn... and look what a mess it turned out to be.''

''Kushina... don't be so hard on yourself. How could we have possibly imagined this would happen?'' Kushina shook her head furiously.

''We should have. We know the Akatsuki is out there and that they're after the Jinchuriki. What was I thinking? He's in constant danger just by being my son... and I go and bring him closer to another prized target? And I shouldn't have brought Naruto along, knowing what kind of man the Kazekage is.'' Kushina clenched her fists so hard her nails drew blood. ''Incredibly stupid.'' Minato stayed quiet for a while. He understood his wife's frustrations but...

''Naruto is safest when with us. That's what I think. Imagine if he hadn't come and the Akatsuki had decided to attack Uzushio instead, thinking you were there. If that had happened, I would have preferred him to be here with us. So I am glad you insisted. You wanted to keep him close; you can never be wrong with that motive.'' Kushina released her grip, fingers now stiff from the strain. She smiled a little. Her husband never ceased to amaze her. No matter the situation, he always knew what to say to bring peace of mind. From the events of that other night, it seemed Naruto had inherited that trait.

''Naruto?'' Kushina called out to her son. The little blond looked up from his work and gazed curiously at his parents. ''Would you like to see us work on the seal?''

''Yes!'' Naruto literally sprung off the chair, his whole face illuminated from sheer excitement. He ran into the office adjoined to their suit. He sat down in front of the large piece of paper on which Kushina had carefully reproduced Gaara's seal. The parents chuckled and took their seats on opposing sides of the paper.

''The rules don't change just because we're not at home, understood?'' Minato reminded his son. He smiled when Naruto nodded silently with the most serious expression in the world. At home, whenever Minato and Kushina allowed their son to watch them discuss seals, he was strictly forbidden from talking, or distracting them in any manner. He was only allowed to speak when his parents specifically asked for his input. Naruto, though, had learned that lesson at his expense... _Like pretty much any other lesson, now that I think about it._ Minato mused.

''The main problem with the design is its intimate connection with Gaara's psych and lack of proper protection when he's unconscious.'' Minato nodded in agreement. The Kazekage had informed told them Gaara did not sleep. Apparently, the Ichibi threatened to take over his body if he did. The Kazekage, lacking proper education in fuinjutsu, had unknowingly strengthened the Ichibi's influence over his son's mind. By turning his son into a weapon, he thought the opposite would happen; that with a heart and mind of steel would better control the beast. The outcome was catastrophic, to say the least. He had only managed to disrupt Gaara's mental health, making it easier for the beast to exercise his influence on the child. All three fuinjutsu users took on a comical pensive expression and looked carefully at the seal. Suddenly, a thought struck Minato.

''But knowing that... doesn't it seem strange to you that Shukaku would always protect Gaara with the sand? Wouldn't it work in Shukaku's interest to let Gaara getting knocked out and just take control over him?'' Kushina blinked at this observation.

''Hm... that's true.'' Kushina grabbed her chin together in her fingers and squinted her eyes in deep thought. Naruto decided to imitate her, which didn't fail to bring up a little smile on Minato's face. They looked exactly the same. ''Ah! I guess that would explain the anomaly in the seal,'' Kushina punched the palm of her hand.

''Anomaly?'' Minato looked down on the seal again and finally saw what Kushina was talking about. ''Right.'' Both of them had assumed that particular part of the seal was simply another error caused by amateur skills.

''Can you find it, Naru-chan?'' Kushina asked her son, who did her best to find it. It last several minutes, but nothing came out of his analysis.

''I can't see anything special. The whole seal is a big mess to me,'' Naruto admitted, feeling a bit disappointed with himself. Minato ruffled his son's hair comfortingly.

''Don't worry, kiddo. You're still young and learning. Any sealmaster would have a hard time finding it.'' This cheered the little boy up.

''It's right here, honey,'' Kushina pointed the exact area. ''This part looks like it was modified by someone else. If my reading is accurate, this part is in charge of the sand protecting Gaara. That's odd, though. You'd think the Kazekage would have informed us about something like this.''

''Maybe he doesn't know, or doesn't want us to know,'' Minato offered.

''Should we bring it up?''

''I don't think so... I'd prefer having the upper hand on this and keep that information to ourselves. At least until we find out more.'' Kushina smirked approvingly.

''At any rate, we need to separate the Ichibi's and Gaara's spirits properly... but how?'' Minato added. There was a long silence. Both jounins thought deeply on a possible solution. Naruto looked between the two quietly, then back down at the seal. He had no idea how his parents were able to understand the seal before them. It was the messiest seal Naruto had ever seen and it wasn't even written in the Kobun. He didn't even know it was possible to make seals without it. He was startled by his mother's loud exasperated sigh.

''There's no way we can repair this seal. The more I look at it, the clearer it is to me. It's impossible to modify it. I thought the biggest challenge would be to find a way to make the seal compatible with the Kobun, you know? But I was completely off track. If we modify this seal, we risk modifying Gaara-kun's mind itself. And who knows what the consequences would be? I won't be able to live with myself if I did something that could possibly debilitate Gaara-kun or worse, let the Ichibi take complete control over him.''

Both blonds looked at her with aghast expressions. Naruto looked down, crestfallen. He had promised Gaara they would help him... He really thought there was no seal which his mother couldn't break through.

''So there's nothing we can do?'' Minato said with similar thoughts.

''I didn't say that.'' Naurto looked up to his mother, eyes full of hope. Kushina's face suddenly turned grim, which sobered up Naruto's own. Mom looking like this couldn't mean anything good. Minato, on the other hand, was simply confused.

''So you found a solution?''

''I did the moment I was given the mission. So did Hiroto-sama. He didn't choose me just because of my proficiency with seals. I don't have a design yet, but I have the procedures.'' Minato carefully weighted each word for their meaning. He stared at her almost defiantly.

''You mean to say...'' Minato trailed off. ''No,'' He stated loud and firm, frightening Naruto. ''It's too risky.''

''We don't have a choice, Minato. This is an S-ranked mission.'' Minato knew she wanted to add _Risking my life is part of the deal,_ but obviously did not want to alarm Naruto. The little blond opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but stopped himself and simply showed his distress on his face. Kushina saw this and laid a comforting hand on his son's cheek and smiled at him.

''You can help, you know?'' The little boy blinked, now just plain confused.

''I can?'' Kushina nodded.

''Yes. By being Gaara's friend. It makes him stronger, and that makes the Ichibi weaker.'' Naruto's face lit up.

''Alright! Leave it to me, mom!'' Kushina chuckled.

Minato, however, did not share their enthusiasm.

OoOoO

Naruto looked on anxiously as his parents entered the Kazekage's private office. He tried to beat himself out of his worry. He didn't get much from listening to his parents about the seal, but it was clear that this mission was much more serious and dangerous than he thought. His parents had told him it was extremely important before they left Uzushio, but his childish mind had not really realized it. Living it was another thing entirely.

Nevertheless, he had to show that he was strong and that he believed in his parents. He refused to let this situation get the better of him, especially since he had a mission of his own to accomplish! With new-found determination, Naruto turned around and followed the two Suna jounins who were escorting him into the room right next to the Kazekage's office. It was a spacious room, but modestly furnished. It was an odd sight that Naruto beheld at that moment. Several guards were stationed in the room, and others he was not aware of were also guarding outside of it. He spotted Gaara first, who was sitting in a corner, his back to the rest of the room. Temari was sitting on a sofa, further away in the room. She looked up from her book to see him come in. Temari then looked towards her little brother with a sad expression before returning to her book. Lastly, Naruto noticed that Kankuro had chosen the spot furthest away from his brother. Using chakra strings, he was playing with his puppets, an angry expression on his face. He was making one of his puppets beat the other savagely. Naruto wondered who he was imagining in the place of his puppets.

Naruto trotted to his friend and sat down beside him.

''Good afternoon, Gaara-kun!'' he greeted happily, startling everyone in the room. Gaara, who had ignored his arrival, decided to spare him a glance at last. Naruto was disappointed to find that the little light he had seen in Gaara's eyes the other night had vanished completely. Always keeping his positive attitude, Naruto went on to cheer his friend up. Perhaps the guy needed to have renewed encouragement.

''Do you want to go play with your brother and sister? I'll ask for you if you're shy.'' At that moment, Gaara wondered if Naruto was nice to him simply because he was an idiot rather than out of genuine benevolence. Maybe the two came hand in hand.

''I told you already,'' Gaara whispered darkly. ''They hate me.'' He looked at his siblings a short moment, then back at Naruto. ''They avoid me and get far as soon as they see me.''

Temari, who was close enough to make out some of what her brother said, looked down in shame. She willed herself not to feel guilty; she had every reason to be scared of her younger brother, no matter how much she wished things were different.

Naruto saw all of this. For all his cluelessness, there were times when he could be very perceptive of other's feelings.

''And I told you that they don't,'' Naruto whispered back very seriously. ''You just have to show them you care.'' Gaara watched stoically as Naruto dig into his pocket. He took out a little piece of paper with a simple seal on it and handed it over to Gaara with a smile. Gaara took it with idle curiosity.

''I make those for Karin-chan all the time. Especially when she's angry at me, you know?'' He snickered to himself, remembering some of the pranks he had pulled on his cousin. ''It's actually a very basic doton jutsu sealed up on paper. You'll see, it's really sweet. Give it to your sister and tell her to put just a bit of chakra in it to activate it, alright? I'll show you how to make them later.'' Gaara stared at the little piece of paper, and gave it a long look. He doubt something as small and insignificant as this would help with his situation. He shared his thoughts with the blond and was surprised by his answer.

''My grandma once told me: No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted. Now come on, let's go!''

Always the impatient one, Naruto pulled Gaara up to Temari, who was staring at them with a prudent expression. She was gripping her closed book tightly, her knuckles turning white, to help her keep her cool.

''Temari-chan,'' Naruto said in a soft and kind voice that Temari found strangely calming.

''Y-yes?''

''Gaara wants to give you something, but he's too shy to do it.'' Temari stared with an unreadable expression.

''Too shy?'' Temari repeated softly, incredulous. Was that really how the boy perceived it?

''You need to help him a little, you know?'' Naruto whispered not-so-subtly to her. Temari swallowed thickly and gathered her courage.

''Gaara?'' she said carefully.

Gaara stiffened but stubbornly kept his eyes glued to the ground.

''Do you really have something for me?'' she added in the gentlest voice she could conjure.

In the far corner of the room, Kankuro looked on the scene with what could be read as nothing other than suspicion.

At last Gaara looked up from the ground. Insecure, he looked at Naruto first for encouragement and found plenty in the blond's confident and determined presence. He handed over the seal, looking directly into his sister's dark green eyes.

''You have to put a bit of chakra into it,'' Gaara said hurriedly, a great change compared to his usual slow, uncaring speech. The blond girl took the paper with slightly trembling hands and did as told. Gaara watched, fascinated, as his sister's expression melted into genuine wonder. Once activated, the seal's characters had shone a bright beautiful gold, then a small white marguerite shyly made its out of the paper. It grew fully and stood straight like it would if planted in rich soil.

Temari smiled, closing her eyes to appreciate the moment. This was the first act of kindness Gaara had ever shown her. She felt like even if he one day ended up killing her, she could forgive him. It sounded excessive, but it was true nonetheless. Unlike Kankuro who was too self-centred and easily influenced by their father, Temari had always seen Gaara as the true victim. She had always pitied him rather than resented him.

''Thank you Gaara,'' She said, looking at her brother intensely to make sure he'd see the honesty in her words. ''I love it.''

Gaara smiled, a small uncertain smile, the first since Yashamaru.

OoOoO

''I'm afraid Sasori refused to divulge any information,'' Rasa told his guests, not sounding very apologetic at all. ''But today was the first day of interrogation, so we will get there.''

Kushina, Minato and the Kazekage were all sitting alone around another copy of Gaara's seal. It had already been two days since the attack. The Uzushio couple knew the Sand leader expected some sort of update. He was in for quite a surprise.

''Regarding my son's situation...'' Rasa trailed off. Kushina nodded ad proceeded to lay out the plan, much to Minato's dismay. He had complete faith in his wife's capacities, but as her husband, he could not help feel grim about it.

''My husband and I came to the same conclusion. We can't temper with the seal. Doing so would undoubtedly alter Gaara's psych and it's impossible to predict the effects of that.'' Kushina took her eyes off the seal to look at the dull redhead directly. ''While this might seem a minor inconvenience to you, know that this could actually weaken Gaara's control over the beast rather than strengthen it.''

Rasa raised a judgmental brow at the accusing tone of the woman's voice.

''What is the alternative?'' he asked without preamble. Minato and Kushina shared a look.

''To destroy the seal and release Shukaku,'' was Kushina's reply.

There was a long silence.

''I am not amused,'' Rasa deadpanned.

''I am not joking,'' Kushina smirked. Minato decided to intervene and offer more details. Kushina seemed to enjoy putting the Kazekage in suspense a bit too much.

''We will relocate in the desert far from the village. I will create a barrier which should be strong enough to keep the Ichibi at bay for the duration of the operation. Kushina will be inside the barrier with Gaara, who will be put under genjutsu to spare him the experience. Once Shukaku is released, she will use her chakra chains to immobilize him. The Ichibi is the weakest of the tailed beasts, so she should be able to both restrain him and re-seal him inside your son with a new design. If she can't, I'll dispel the barrier and seal him myself. It's risky, but not impossible. Kushina has restrained a tailed beast before, so I know she can do it.''

On second thought, Rasa would have preferred it to be a joke. He considered all the possibilities and wondered if it was worth the risk. If anything, Shukaku being free and attacking them was the least of his concern. With the beast unleashed and a sealmaster being able to restrain the beast so near... For all he knew, the woman might try to seal it into someone else - her son maybe? - And keep its power for themselves.

No. It was impossible, Rasa thought to himself mockingly. Konoha and Uzushio are way too self-righteous for that kind of backstabbing act. Regardless, he would be there to make sure all went smoothly.

''I see. It seems to be the only option. I put this matter into your capable hands.'' It impressed Minato how the Kazekage could express himself so fluently without putting any weight or depth in his words.

There was a knock on the door, and once Rasa had given his permission, a jounin came in carrying a message scroll. It wore both Konoha's and Uzushio's symbols. That did not fail to stir up the couple's curiosity. The Kazekage quickly read through it. If Minato's acute facial reading was correct (a feat, considering the Kazekage's getup), the Sand leader didn't look very pleased. Then again, he never really showed any other emotion.

''I suppose you must have reported the attack to your respective villages,'' Rasa deduced from the message he read. ''They are sending a squad here so they can escort you back to Konoha once your mission is over.'' Kushina and Minato shared a look. They were grateful for the extra attention since Naruto was with them, but they also suspected it had something to do with the Sound ninja they captured. The Akatsuki attack was the perfect excuse to justify the squad. Rasa, for his part, was far from happy to have these extra intruders in his village.

''I have the names of each member of the squad, if you're curious.'' Rasa handed them the scroll.

Minato took the scroll and tried to hide his little smile at some of the names on the list. The squad had six members, two of which were from Uzushio.

Uzumaki Risa  
Seiwa Kenichi  
Hatake Kakashi  
Maito Guy  
Nara Shikaku  
Hyuuga Tokuma

It was rare to see the infamous Ino-Shika-Cho team separated, but knowing each member's abilities, it did make a very effective escort group for them.

The three powerful shinobis made their way to the adjacent room where their children were. What Rasa saw felt more like a genjutsu than reality. The blond child was sitting beside his youngest son and both of them were listening quietly to Temari, who was reading her story aloud. Further away, even Kankuro, who had forgotten about his puppets, was looking questionably at the scene. Once the children took notice of their presence, he saw the older Uzumaki flash a bright smile and a thumbs up at her son, who returned the gesture with equal enthusiasm. Rasa frowned at the scene. Those Uzumakis, for all their bizarre and hot tempered behaviour, were turning out to be an even scarier clan than he imagined.

OoOoO

Coming up with the new design for the seal had been, without a doubt, the hardest task Kushina had ever been given in her life. Right after giving birth to Naruto, of course. Finding appropriate restrictions for the seal and applying them to a design meant to contain a tailed beast was not easy, even for a sealmaster such as herself. Minato was a great help, of course, but there wasn't anything he was capable of when it came to sealing that she couldn't do as well, with the exception of the Hirashin. So it was mostly his input she wanted. The rest of the time, Minato mostly took leave of her to check on their son.

Speaking of which, Minato was impressed with Naruto's dedication to his little mission of bringing Gaara closer to his siblings. It seemed to be working very well with Temari, the eldest, but less so with the older brother. It reached the point where Naruto's attempts were starting to annoy the brown haired boy more than anything else, which in turn caused the Jinchuriki to draw back to his angry self.

''Gaara,'' Temari said that day when she noticed Gaara's sand getting restless. Her tone, though still careful, was much more confident than the other times Minato had witnessed interactions between the two siblings. ''Everyone is different. Kankuro needs more time, and you have to respect that.'' Gaara was taken aback at first, but his frustration didn't diminish.

''You dare tell me what to do?'' he whispered darkly between his teeth. Temari swallowed thickly, but decided to stand strong. Naruto was about to intervene, but Temari beat him to it.

''That's what big sisters do, Gaara. They give their advice so their little brothers can learn from them. Kankuro will come to us, but you need to be patient.''

Minato nodded approvingly; he was glad to see Temari was taking the initiative and building a relationship that did not depend on Naruto's role as intermediate. Gaara was shocked by his sister's words, but reacted positively to them. He seemed to appreciate that his older sister was treating him more and more like a normal human being, and not like a monster.

OoOoO

''Yo.''

''Kakashi nii-san!'' Naruto cried out excitedly and proceeded to tackle the young man with a fierce hug. Kakashi chuckled and petted the young blond's soft hair affectionately, while the rest of the group properly introduced themselves.

''Such a youthful display of affection!'' Guy exclaimed with disproportionate thrill. ''Who knew my most impassive rival was such a softie after all! I am moved! So much, in fact, that I could run a thousand laps around the village!'' Kakashi lifted a lazy brow at his self-proclaimed rival.

''I just don't bother with the people who aren't worth the trouble, you know what I mean?'' Guy froze in his dynamic pose, his face suddenly crestfallen.

''A-arent... worth the trouble?''

The Uzushio ninjas, who hadn't had enough time to adjust to Guy's intense personality, looked at the man like he was deranged. The Konoha nins ignored him; it was the reaction that was least damaging for their brain.

The escort party had arrived a week after the Kazekage announced their arrival. They were brought directly where the Uzumaki family was staying to greet them. Naruto knew Kakashi would be part of the squad so he had noticed him first, but looking at the other members, it seemed his parents had forgotten to mention his school teachers would be there as well.

''Risa-sensei? Kenichi-sensei? What are you doing here?'' Naruto squinted his eyes suspiciously at them. ''I hope you're not here to give me more summer homework.'' He had plenty enough to do. Not to mention, he had Hiroto's own assignments to do as well!

''Ha!'' Risa burst out laughing. ''No worries kiddo. What do you think we teachers do on our days off? We can't let our skills get rusty, so we take on missions! Plus, I don't need anymore correction, and _your_ work is always a pain to correct.'' She turned to his mother. ''No offense, Kushina-chan.''

''None taken,'' Kushina sighed, knowing her son's messy methods all too well.

''Thought you liked my doodles...'' Naruto muttered to himself, pouting.

''Risa-chan, since you're here, I'd like to have your thoughts on the seal design I came up with.'' Kushina certainly wouldn't pass the opportunity to have another Uzumaki's input on such an important mission, especially one as skilled as Risa.

Once the two women moved to the other room, the Hyuuga approached Minato and shook hands.

''Minato-san, it's been a while,'' Tokuma said politely. Minato was perplexed at first, but suddenly the memories came back to him.

''Right! We did a couple of missions together when I was still in Leaf.'' Minato smiled. He was still a Chunin back then. It had been, what, over ten years ago? ''Man, time sure flies.''

''It does. It's nice to see you again. You got yourself a nice family. Congratulations.'' Minato grinned widely.

''Thanks!''

''Um, so... Do you know Uzumaki-san well?'' Suddenly, Tokuma's face turned slightly embarrassed, something Minato had never seen in a Hyuuga.

''I do. I taught at Uzushio's academy for a few years. She was my co-worker.'' Tokuma checked behind him and saw the others were busy chatting together. He lowered his voice and continued.

''Do you know if she's... unattached?''

''Eh?'' Minato kept an awkward smile on his face. _That was unexpected!_ He tried not to laugh at the poor guy's face, thinking back on the conversation he and Risa had about Hyuugas a couple of years ago. ''N-not that I know of! I'm pretty sure she's single.'' Not that he didn't know where the Hyuuga was coming from; the Uzumaki clan was very prestigious and Risa was very attractive, even if a little tomboyish with her obnoxious personality, lean figure and stylish short hair. Minato didn't know it yet, but falling for obnoxious Uzumakis would apparently become a Hyuuga trait.

OoOoO

Today was an awesome day for Naruto. He felt like an actual, full fledge-shinobi right now. His parents and the members of the escort squad were having a super secret meeting, and he was allowed to listen! His dad had even put seals around the room to keep Sand ninjas from spying on the meeting! He'd have to learn that technique later.

''Are you sure your kid should hear what we have to say?'' Shikaku asked the blond boy's parents suspiciously. Minato grinned, ruffling his son's hair.

''Naruto was there when it happened anyway. He knows it's a ninja from Sound village and knows he was probably after some information. He also knows he can't speak of the event to anyone, not even his new friends.'' Naruto nodded fervently to back up his dad's words.

''Trust the new generation of shinobi!'' Naruto exclaimed, brandishing a victorious fist in the air. Shikaku let out a long sigh.

''What a drag, but alright. He would have found out sooner or later from you anyways.'' Shikaku took out a sealed scroll from his pouch and showed it to everyone in the room. The scroll contained the Sound ninja's profile, as depicted from what Konoha's reputed T&I was able to find out.

''It turns out that Otogakure was founded by none other than Orochimaru.'' Kakashi revealed, taking over the report. Kushina and Minato gasped at this new piece of information.

''Wow, Ibiki's skills really have gotten more impressive with time. Not even Jiraiya-sensei's spy network uncovered that information.'' Minato felt his sleeve being pulled and looked down at a confused Naruto.

''Who's that Erochimaru guy you're talking about?'' Naurto whispered to his dad. Minato had to laugh at Naruto's accidental pun.

''A missing nin from Konoha. I'll tell you more later,'' Minato winked, earning a firm nod from Naruto.

''Do we know why they were spying on us?'' Kushina interjected.

''Well, the shinobi you got is a low-ranked among Orochimaru's nins so we don't have thorough information. What we do know is that this particular nin went on several recon missions and is investigating several ninja villages' activity in general. The scroll he had on him contained a summary of his findsings on different villages. He also confessed that he received unique abilities as 'gift' from Orochimaru,'' Shikaku explained.

''Knowing Orochimaru's past with human experimentation, it's safe to assume that all the ninjas in his village will be enhanced in some way, and will become more and more dangerous as his experiments go on,'' Minato said, holding his chin between his fingers in thought. ''And those recon missions sound like they're meant to analyze each village's strength by checking their activity and the ninja's skills.'' It brought Minato some reassurance to know that they really weren't after them in particular after all.

''As sharp as ever, Minato,'' Kenichi said, smiling. Shikaku nodded and continued.

''I came up with the same conclusion as you, but you saying it makes me even more convinced.'' The older blond scratched the back of his head sheepishly, not knowing how to react at the praise. Beside him, Naruto was looking up at him with unabashed admiration. It brought flutters to Minato's heart to see it.

''The enhancement is implanted through a cursed seal. We found the same on Mizuki, which means he's already infiltrated our village before. You might want to watch out for suspicious behaviour in Uzushio,'' Shikaku informed the Uzushio nins, who blinked in curiosity.

''Who's Mizuki?'' Kushina asked.

''An academy teacher who tried to steal a forbidden scroll from our library. Fortunately, we were able to stop him before he could leave the village.''

Once the meeting was adjourned, Tokuma surprised everyone by asking Risa out for dinner. It surprised Kushina and Minato even more when she accepted.

After witnessing such a youthful display of passionate love (Guy's words), the green-clad ninja challenged Kakashi to crab-race across the desert until sunset with him. Kakashi naturally refused and instead offered Naruto to train together. Guy instantly asked to join in, but Kakashi was pleased to hear Naruto -bless the child- refuse bluntly, affirming that Bushy-Brow-san (Naruto's words) would just get in the way.

Crestfallen, Guy swore he would perform a thousand push-ups and a thousand sit-ups while holding his breath to prove his worth.

All was well in the ninja world.

OoOoO

The day of the Demon Sealing Ceremony came soon after the squad's arrival. Minato and Kushina were grateful for that. They didn't feel very comfortable leaving their precious son alone in Suna while they were gone, and bringing him along for the ceremony was out of the question.

At the gates of the village, Naruto watched his parents, along with Risa who would serve as backup, leave with the Kazekage, Gaara and several Suna nins. He held Kakashi's hand much tighter than necessary, but Kakashi didn't complain. Beside him, Temari was watching as well. She looked more composed than Naruto, but the boy could see the worry in the older sister's eyes.

''Don't worry, Temari-chan. Mom will take good care of Gaara-kun. Once they're back, he'll feel better than he's ever felt before!'' Naruto said encouragingly, clenching a determined fist. Temari looked down at him and offered him a cheeky grin. She ruffled his hair in a way that reminded him of Karin. As he got to know her and as she loosened herself around him and Gaara, he found that she and his cousin were kind of similar. Both were kind and strong, but Temari didn't have Karin's rather fluctuating personality. She was more stoic, but maybe a bit more arrogant as well. He kinda liked it; she was a pretty cool and reassuring kind of older sister.

''I have no doubt about it, pipsqueak.''

''Hey!'' He took back his thoughts. Temari wasn't that cool after all.

OoOoO

Once they had reached an appropriate distance from the village, the party stopped and got in their positions. As instructed, Minato and Risa took their place closer around Kushina and Gaara and proceeded to elevate a powerful barrier. If Gaara had to be honest with himself, he'd have to admit he felt a bit intimidated. So far away from the village with strangers, and worse, with his father, he felt himself already losing his cool. He would have preferred Temari or Naruto to be there, but the adults were against it. He looked around at the barrier with justified distrust. Kashina, obeying to her maternal instincts, took upon herself to reassure the little boy.

''Gaara-kun.'' It almost startled Gaara how alike Naruto and his mother sounded. ''I know this is a bit intimidating, but we are not doing this because we don't trust you. We are doing this because we are worried about the prisoner that you hold.''

''Mother is not a prisoner,'' was all he could think of as a reply. It took Kushina off guard, but she discarded the emotion quickly.

''Well, she is very powerful. We want to make sure she doesn't hurt anyone. You understand?''

''Yes,'' Gaara replied after some hesitation.

''I'll let you on a little secret that Naruto told me, okay? But don't tell anyone.'' Gaara nodded. ''Temari-chan prepared a little surprise for you once you come back.'' Gaara's eyes widened a fraction.

''Really?''

''Yeah!'' Kushina smiled widely. ''So let's get this over with quickly so you can get that surprise, you know?'' She winked at Gaara, who nodded more fervently this time. Kushina took that as a good sign. ''Now, I'll put you under a genjutsu. You'll see, it'll be over in no time.''

''Alright.'' Gaara was a little suspicious of that but decided to trust the woman, since she was so much like Naruto.

Kushina caught Gaara's unconscious form and carefully placed him on the altar that had been previously set up by Minato. From the slowly changing appearance of Gaara's sin, Kushina could tell that Shukaku was already starting to take over Gaara's subconscious state.

''So it can influence him even when under genjutsu... The seal is even more fragile than I thought,'' she muttered to herself. ''Alright,'' she said, louder this time. She looked at Minato and Risa. They both nodded, signalling that they were ready to proceed. She then looked at the Kazekage, standing further away from the site along with his shinobi. He gave his approval as well. She took another look at her husband, who offered her a reassuring smile.

Kushina took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She played the chain of events quickly in her mind to better prepare herself. She, as well as Minato and Risa, had gone over hundreds of case scenarios and thought of the most appropriate response for each of them. She could do this. She had been through war, she had faced the Gobi's jinchuriki almost fully transformed; she could do this.

Minato watched attentively as Kushina started gathering her chakra. Seal marks started to appear along her right arm, then moved to conglomerate into the palm of her hand. The marks then ran up to each of her fingers. A bright blue flame lit up at each of them with the Kobun characters for the five elements found in nature: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth. Kushina opened her eyes. She had a fierce look like Minato had rarely seen in his life.

''Five Elements Unseal!'' she shouted out and planted her fingers firmly into Gaara's stomach. An incredibly bright light flashed around Kushina and the child and grew until the whole space within the barrier was swallowed, blinding all those around. Time seemed to stop. For Minato, the moment felt like an eternity. He could see nothing of what was going on and couldn't hear anything either.

Suddenly, a loud, dark, inhuman laughter emerged.

 **''Finally free! Hahaha! You fools!''** The laughter sent shivers down Minato's spine. He couldn't believe his beloved Kushina was in there with such a monster.

The light finally subsided. He let out a deep breath he hadn't known he had been holding when he saw his wife standing in front of Gaara, looking as strong as ever. She had placed a barrier around Gaara's sleeping body to protect him, just like they had planned.

''Not for long, scumbag!'' Kushina yelled out mockingly before launching her chakra chains.

Minato's jaw dropped. Trust to Kushina to act completely out of line in even the most dangerous and tense situations.

Shukaku roared as the chains encircled each of his limbs completely. His roars were so powerful, it literally dragged Kushina backward until the barrier around Gaara blocked her path. Clenching her teeth furiously together, she sent a large amount of chakra through her chains and pulled them down with all her strength, making the tailed beast fall submissively to the ground.

The proud beast roared again with unequalled rage. Shukaku seized some of the chains and planted his sharp fangs into them. He swung the chains to the side with all his might, propelling Kushina right into the walls of the barrier.

''Gah!'' Kushina cried out in pain. The impact was so great, her chains instantly dispelled. She fell several meters down before hitting the sand head first.

''Kushina!'' Minato screamed in panic, causing his focus on the barrier to waver slightly. Risa quickly counter-balanced the effect by adding more chakra into the wall.

''Stay focused, Minato!'' she screamed out to the blond man.

Kushina weakly probed herself up onto her trembling arms. She coughed several time, then spit out a large amount of blood.

Shukaku took this down time to literally smash himself against the wall to weaken it. This certainly woke Minato out of her stupor, especially since he knew Kushina could still fight. He shared a quick look with Risa and both infused a large amount of chakra into the walls to keep them strong.

 **''Heyyaaaa!''** Shukaku let out another piercing, maddening laughter then took a deep breath, filling his stomach round with air. Minato and Risa knew what was coming. They reinforced the walls even more, bracing themselves for the impact.

 **''Wind Release: Air Bullets!''** He raised his arm high up in the air, then smacked it against his stomach, releasing a gigantic ball of air, infused with demonic chakra. The tailed beast repeated the jutsu until the wall in front of him started to breach. Minato and Risa were putting all their might into the barrier, but they couldn't hold it for much longer now. Only a few more of those, and they were done for.

''Kushina!'' Minato screamed once again, begging his wife to tell them what do to. The redhead was panting heavily, blood streaming down from her forehead, nose and mouth. She extended her arms for more chakra chains and infused all the chakra she could into them. The chains caught their target and held the creature from performing his jutsu. She sent the monster down again, her breathing erratic. She had completely underestimated the beast. A grave, unforgivable mistake. The difference in power between a tailed beast when in a jinchuriki and when it was free was considerable, regardless of which stage in his or her transformation the Jinchuriki was. As things were now, she _could_ keep the beast at bay, but she would never be able to keep it up while performing the Sealing Ceremony. With every second that passed, she could feel her chakra reserve drop drastically. However, Kushina refused to have Minato and Risa break the barrier if she could help it. Hence, she closed her eyes and entered her mindscape.

Her mindscape was a bright yellow space of seemingly endless proportions. She stood, as if floating in the air, and looked at the pitiful sight in front of her.

Crucified on an immense round boulder, was the Nine-Tails. His paws, feet and tails were each pierced through with steel rods, which were all linked by Kushin'a chakra chains, which in turn were wrapped all around the Kyubi's body. At the sight of his container, Kurama let out a low growl. It was low and deep, nothing like Shukaku's insupportable screams. However, if you asked Kushina, Shukaku's screams paled in comparison to Kurama's infernal growls.

''Hey, furball,'' Kushina declared in a ragged voice. ''Lend me your chakra.'' Kurama let out an enraged growl at the impertinent command. How he longed to get out of this prison and tear each of the woman's limbs apart with his fangs.

 **''You are a lot stupider than I thought if you think I'll just hand it over to you.''** Kushina stayed completely unshaken. The seal holding off the beast had been designed by Mito herself. It was by far the most sophisticated and powerful Jinchuriki seal and her chakra chains made it especially effective.

''You know I have complete control over it. If you don't hand it over to me, I'll simply extract it from you. The process will just be more painful for you,'' she replied, crossing her arms defiantly.

 **''How considerate of you,''** the Kyubi replied in a low voice, dripping with sarcasm. Then, he angrily huffed large amount of air through his nose, which lifted up Kushina's hair. **''I'll pass. I still got my pride. I'll die before I lend even an ounce of my chakra willingly to a human,''** he said with every bit of disdain he could invoke.

Kushina opened her eyes, now back into the real world.

''Fine then,'' Kushina muttered to herself before taking a large breath. She braced herself, clenching her fists tightly and let out a loud battle cry. Red chakra suddenly flared from her body. Minato watched, awe-struck, as her hair danced in the air in the manner of nine fox tails. Her fangs grew longer and sharper, so did her nails, which could now only be described as claws. The most dreadful change however, Minato thought, was her eyes. Normally so kind and beautiful, they had turned blood red and her pupils were slanted like those of a fox. Kushina lost no time and infused her chains with the powerful, demonic chakra, restraining Shukaku more securely. Then, she performed a quick series of hand signs.

 **''Yin Release: Jigokumon, The Great Gate of Hell!''** Even her voice was distorted, demonic.

She raised her hands and shadow sphere appeared far above in the sky. It shaped itself into an colossal Torii. The Torii was made of deep dark ebony, burning with the black flames of hell. Kushina brought her hands down violently, and the gate fell down onto Shukaku's neck, bringing him down submissively to the ground with a large gust of wind and sand. The tailed beast screamed from the sheer pain and humiliation. It lay, unmoving.

Minato stared, awed by Kushina's new technique. He remembered her mentioning a new powerful sealing technique she was working on back in Uzushio. She had created it specifically for this kind of situation. She had been inspired by the First Hokake's own Sealing technique; the Gate of the Great God. Though since Kushina could not enter into the sage state, she had to use her creativity to make it compatible with her own affinities. The result truly was a sight to behold.

The Kazekage watched, speechless, the events unfold before him. For the first time in his life, the Kazekage found himself trembling with fear, clod sweat falling freely from his temples. Beside him, his subordinates couldn't contain their terror either. Some even fell on their knees, unable to bare the awe that was overcoming them. _This... this is what the Kyubi Jinchuriki is capable of? It can't be... How is it possible to possess such power?!_ Suddenly, the Kazekage's plan of making Gaara his village's prized weapon felt like a big joke to him. The Ichibi, it was even clearer to him now, was the weakest of he tailed beast. With this and the state his village was in, he could never hope to become the strongest Shinobi village. He clenched his teeth and fists together, shaking with pure, brazing rage. He would have to rethink his plans once this hell was over.

Panting heavily, Kushina turned her back to the beast to face the sleeping child. It was a miracle the boy hadn't come out of the genjutsu with all that was happening around him. Kushina suspected it was thanks to the barrier she had placed. She advanced toward him, chains extending as she walked. She knelt, still panting, in front of the child. She undid the barrier and raised her hand right above the boy's stomach. A blue flame lit up at the tip of her index and she began to carve in the new seal. Gaara was squirming in pain at the burning sensation, but Kushina made sure he stayed under the effects of the genjutsu.

 **''I'm sorry,''** **s** he whispered, feeling ashamed for hurting the poor child.

 **''Noooo!''** Shukaku screamed, eyes bulging from desperation. **''I won't be sealed again!''**

Once she was done with the design, Kushina performed the long, complex series of hand signs.

 **''Sealing Art: Altered Eight Trigrams Seal!''**

Shukaku abandoned himself to final screams of outrage, the only form of resistance he was allowed to express. Just as he had appeared, the tailed beast disappeared in a blinding flash of light.

Minato was the first to react when all was over. He instantly broke the barrier and hirashined to his wife before she could fall to the ground. He caught her in his loving arms, not surprised to find her unconscious. Her skin, naturally pale, was now frighteningly white. Blood was still streaming down from her face. She had put so much energy into all the techniques she had used that the Kyubi's power hadn't even healed her wounds yet. Still, although she was completely drained and injured, she was very much alive, and Minato was infinitely grateful for that.

The second to react, barely an instant after Minato, was Risa, who made her way directly to the unconscious boy. She proceeded to examine the seal on his stomach. It was flawlessly executed and was obviously working seeing as she could not sense the demon's influence at all. However, Risa noticed a small alteration to the design which had not been there when Kushina had shown it to her. Her heart began to pound furiously at the sight. Had she made a mistake in the heat of the moment? She willed herself to calm down. Impossible. Kushina was much too skilled of a Shinobi for that. There had to be an explanation for it. It would have to wait until she was recovered. For now, the beast was securely held at bay and Kushina was alive. That was all that mattered.

Risa broke the genjutsu, though it would take a couple of hours before Gaara came to himself again. She carefully picked the boy up and looked at Kazekage and his nins.

If the situation hadn't been so grave, she would have laughed at the faces she saw. The Suna nins were frightened out of their wits: They had witnessed the power of the Uzumaki clan.

OoOoO

Naruto, the poor child, had cried his balls out when he saw the sate his mom was in. It took a lot of consoling and reassuring hugs on Minato's part to calm the child down. The two of them spent the entirety of the following week at the hospital by Kushina's side, with the members of the escort squad visiting everyday. Risa sometimes visited Gaara as well, to monitor the seal.

It had taken three days for her to wake up, and another three days for her to begin to eat and walk properly. There was one time when Naruto allowed himself to leave his mother's side. It was when he found out that Gaara had also woken up and was well enough to have visitors.

When Naruto entered Gaara's room, only Temari and Kankuro were present. But to Gaara, they were more than enough. Naruto smiled at his friend who returned it much more genuinely than he ever had before. He later found out through Temari that when Gaara had woken up, he had shared with her the fact that he could no longer feel the ominous weight on his shoulder nor hear the constant evil whispers in his mind. He had felt so free that he had cried from the beauty of the sensation. It had moved Temari to tears to even retell it. Naruto, who was highly empathetic, shed his fair share of tears as well.

He also found out what Temari's surprise for Gaara was; while he was recuperating in the hospital, Temari had ordered for Gaara's belongings to be moved to the empty room next to her own bedroom. Gaara would no longer live in a different building than his family. From now on, he would be living near his siblings.

On the seventh day, it was time for the Uzushio and Konohs nins to depart. It deeply saddened Naruto that he had to leave his new friends so soon, but he knew they would only become happier from now. The Kazekage, out of sheer political duty, had made an appearance at the gates for their departure, but had let his children do the talking. Gaara gave Kushina a crystallized desert rose which that, as he told her, he had made himself. Kushina was very touched by the kind and genuine gesture. Temari gave Naruto a small toad purse (she knew it to be Naruto's favourite animal) which he was absolutely thrilled about. Temari was honestly taken aback by the disproportionate reaction. It had seemed like a really lame gift to give considering what Naruto had done for them, but the intention was there and Naruto was very easily pleased.

Later that night, when they had reached a safe distance from the Sand village, Risa made her way to the Uzumaki family's tent. With Naruto fast asleep, she finally felt it was the time to address an issue which had been bothering her for a week now.

''Kushina... when I inspected Gaara's seal, I found a small alteration which wasn't on the original design you showed me,'' Risa confessed, trying not to sound as anxious as she actually was.

''Oh that?'' Kushina smiled good-naturally. She turned to her husband. ''Minato, remember that anomaly we found on Gaara's old seal?'' Minato nodded. ''When I destroyed Gaara's seal, I found out what it was.'' She turned back to Risa to pursue her explanation. ''Gaara's mother died shortly after she gave birth to her son. However, before she did so, she was able to imbue a part of her spirit, her will to protect her son, into Gaara's sand -or Shukaku's if you will. Isn't that beautiful?'' She smiled to her husband, who returned it tenfold. Gaara's instinct to call his prisoner 'mother' hadn't been entirely wrong after all.

''Amazing,'' Risa whispered, dumbstruck. ''So she basically modified the seal to make sure Shukaku's sand would always protect him? It sounds impossible.'' Kushina nodded.

''I myself don't understand how she was able to accomplish this. I guess there is no power greater than a mother's desire to protect her children, you know?'' As she said those words, she gently ran a hand through her child's soft hair. ''When I broke the seal, I briefly came across Karura's spirit, but I understood her intentions instantly, as if she had communicated with me through my mind. So when the time came for me to perform the seal, I made a last minute alteration so Karura could continue protect her son. I made it so that when Gaara reaches sixteen -the age at which he will access Shukaku's full power, he will be able to meet his mother in his mindscape and she can finally tell him that she loves him.'' There was a long, serene pause after the confession.

''You are the most amazing person there is, Kushina.'' Minato told his wife, his eyes conveying all the love he felt for her.

Risa smiled, moved by the scene. She had to agree, Kushina was something else.

OoOoO

After being neglected for such a long time, Sasori came to the conclusion that the Kazekake had decided to let him rot in his cell for the rest of eternity. It was hardly the most honourable demise he could have met, but he supposed there was worse. He was proved wrong, however, by the Kazekage himself visiting again.

The first thing Sasori noticed was the Kazekage's aura, so thick and heavy with fury that Sasori could feel it a miles away from his cell. Once the man came into view, the off-putting glint in Rasa's eyes had turned to sheer madness.

''Change of plans,'' Rasa said darkly through his teeth. ''You will put me in contact with your leader. I would like to propose a deal.''

* * *

To help situate yourself in the timeline, here is how old everyone is in the ''Filled With Love'' chapters:

Shikaku, Kushina & Minato: 31  
Risa & Kenichi: 26  
Kakashi & Guy: 21  
Hyuuga Tokuma: 28 (I made him older than in canon)  
Naruto & Gaara: 7  
Kankuro: 9  
Temari: 10 (Gaara thinks she's around 9)


	5. Nemesis

**Yes, a triple update!** I felt guilty for those who already read Filled With Love I & II in DLB, so I published a third chapter at the same time with new stuff for you guys!

 **General Note:** Since many people asked for it, I've decided not to delete _Don't Look Back_. Consider it a ''Deleted Scenes'' sort of fic, haha. Thanks for all the wonderful readers who encouraged me to do so. The fact you enjoyed it so much is very heart-warming!

* * *

 **Silver Lining**

 _Nemesis_

\- - - Konoha Hospital: Four months ago - - -

''Is he going to make it?''

He couldn't see anything, couldn't open his eyes, but Minato knew that voice. The name simply wouldn't come to him though; he was hurting too much to think anything coherent at the moment. Every bone in his body burned in agony. He didn't know where he was or why he was hurting so much. All he was aware of were the voices hushing worriedly around him.

''I'll do my best, but he's in really bad shape.''

''Come on, Tsunade.'' Jiraiya turned to eye his old teammate sharply. ''You've got to save him. Don't let my nephew become an orphan.''

Tsunade glared at him in response and wiped her sweaty forehead as she started working on Minato. As if she didn't have enough stress and pressure to cope with. She had spent the last five hours healing Naruto, while Shizune had made sure Minato would at least survive until she could take care of him.

''Don't worry,'' she said at last. ''I'm not so cruel that I would let someone like you take over Naruto's upbringing.''

''Good,'' Jiraiya said, letting go of the tension in his shoulders. Jiraiya had been incredibly lucky when he found out Tsunaday happened to less than a day away from Konoha. Only a little longer and Minato wouldn't have survived.

At the mention of his son's name, Minato felt a sudden rush of adrenaline disperse through his body. The pain diminished for a moment and his memory came back to him. He began trashing in his bed, trying to speak out, but his throat was so sore only grunts came out.

''W-what's going on?!'' Jiraiya panicked. Tsunade activated a sedating jutsu, interrupting the diagnosis scan she had been performing.

''I don't know. His heartbeat's off the roof!''

Minato managed to crack his eyes open. His vision was blurry and the lights in the room were too strong, but he could still make out the contours of Tsunade's face.

''N-na...'' he grunted, each syllable like sandpaper in his throat. ''Na... ru...to.''

''He's okay, Minato. I promise. You need to calm down so I can heal you. Then, you'll be able to see him.'' Minato would have none of that. He wanted to see his son right now. He'd make sure he was fine with his own eyes. He tried to sit up in his bed and cringed when he felt his bandaged wounds starting to bleed again.

''Oh no you won't.'' Jiraiya rushed over to Minato's side and pinned him back down on the bed. Tsunade frowned, sweat drops trailing down her forehead. Minato fought against Tsunade's sedating technique with all his might, and she didn't like that. He would only tire himself more and worsen his state.

''Shizune!'' she screamed out and the younger medic came rushing in seconds after. ''Bring Naruto in here immediately!'' Shizune's eyes went wide at the command.

''But Lady Tsunade-''

''I said now!''

''Y-yes!'' The young woman promptly left the room, calling out to some nurses to bring a stretcher with them.

''He'll be right here, Minato. Now please, just calm down,'' Jiraiya told his student firmly, which seemed to work well enough. He stopped moving, but he was still stubbornly fighting against the sedative. Tsunade stopped her jutsu; if she continued, it would only do more damage than good.

Shizune, along with two other nurses, rolled the stretcher into the room and brought it beside Minato's bed. Minato turned his face to the side, willing his eyes to clear his vision. At last he could see him. He was bandaged all over and frighteningly pale, but _alive_. Naruto was breathing evenly, he was sleeping in Konoha's hospital and he was safe.

Minato lifted his arm over to the stretcher and grabbed Naruto's warm hand. He felt tears trail down along his cheeks. There were no words to describe the overwhelming relief he felt… He had made it to Konoha in time. Finally, he allowed himself to succumb to Tsunade's jutsu and fell back into the sweet release of unconsciousness.

The scene was heartbreaking for everyone in the room and no one dared to say even a word. Tsunade wiped a single tear then performed a few handsigns. She had a father to save.

OoOoO

\- - - Present day - - -

Minato lifted the rice cooker's lid. A burning-hot cloud of steam escaped and once it dissipated Minato stirred the rice with his plastic spoon to see if it was ready. He sighed a little; it was a slightly over-cooked, but it would have to do since he didn't want to waste food. Kushina had been such an exceptional cook. Now that he had taken over the task since her departure, Minato did his best to try and match her skills, if only for Naruto's sake. He switched off the cooker and put a generous amount of rice in two small bowls and placed them on the table with the rest of the food: miso soup, diced tomatoes and cucumbers in oyster sauce, smoked salmon and tamagoyaki. He nodded approvingly.

''Naruto!'' he called out towards Naruto's bedroom. ''Breakfast's ready!''

''I'll be there in a minute!'' Minato blinked. The voice wasn't coming from Naruto's room, but from the training room. He walked towards the small ''dojo'' Minato had fitted out a few weeks back. The building didn't have a courtyard and having to move over to one of Konoha's public training ground all the time wasn't very convenient, so he had used one of the rooms of their fairly spacious apartment for that purpose. The only downside was that they couldn't practice more powerful jutsus. Maybe he should look for a house after all.

Minato slid the rice paper door open and saw Naruto standing several feet away from a wooden dummy. He seemed in deep concentration -a rare sight- so Minato decided not to disturb him and watch what the blond boy was trying to do. The boy stayed quiet for a while, eyes closed. Blue chakra started to fluctuate around him, the waves growing bigger and bigger.

''Ah!'' Naruto cried out as he thrust his arms forward. Nothing happened. Minato raised a curious brow. Naruto, on the other hand, was beyond frustrated. He clenched his teeth together and stomped the floor loudly with his foot. ''Damn it!''

''Language,'' Minato warned. Naruto turned to him, glaring childishly, then sighed. ''Are you trying to summon your chakra chains again?'' Naruto pouted, looking down at the floor stubbornly. He nodded.

''I just can't do it. I don't understand.'' Minato walked over to his son and put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder.

''Give yourself time, Naruto. When you manifested them, the Kyuubi still hadn't been sealed within you. Becoming a jinchuuriki messed up your chakra control a little. It'll take more training before you can perform such a high level technique.''

''Man, this sucks,'' Naruto sighed, crossing his arms in frustration. He looked up to his dad. ''Can I increase the strength of my gravity seals?''

''No,'' Minato answered straight away. His tone suggested there was no place for negotiation, but Naruto decided to ignore it.

''Please, dad! It's low enough as it is, and I haven't increased it in a year! That Neji guy doesn't have any and I was barely keeping up!'' _Ah, so that's why he wants to increase it,_ Minato thought.

''Still a no. Hyuuga Neji is older than you and he's a genin. Plus, you're a growing boy, Naruto. People normally don't use training weights until they're older. They can hinder growth, and you're already pretty small,'' Minato ended on a teasing note. Naruto's expression was priceless.

''Hey! I'm not short! It's just my Uzumaki genes, you know? You'll see, I'll be taller than you when I'm older. It'll just take a little more time, is all!'' Minato laughed out loud and ruffled Naruto's hair.

''Keep telling yourself that, squirt. Now come on, the food will get cold.'' He earned a comical glare from his son, then both moved over to the kitchen. Before they could sit down, however, the doorbell rang and Naruto perked up curiously.

''Maybe the guys are early,'' he muttered to himself, walking towards the front door. ''We're meeting up to practice tomorrow's presentation.''

''The one with the case scenarios?'' Minato asked, to which Naruto replied with a nod. He opened the door.

''Yo.''

''Eh, Kakashi-nii? What are you doing here?'' Naruto blinked up at the mask-clad ninja.

''So welcoming,'' Kakashi told the little blond sarcastically, who snickered shamelessly and walked back over to the table.

''Do you want to join us for breakfast?'' Kakashi shook his head politely.

''Thanks sensei, but I ate already and I need to leave for a mission. Hokage-sama asked me to tell you that Jiraiya's back and that he wants you to join them as soon as you can.''

Minato sharpened his eyes at the information. So Jiraiya was back from his investigation? That probably meant he had discovered something interesting.

OoOoO

''Alright, let's go over the formation before we start.'' Shikamaru said as he grabbed a thin branch near him and crouched to draw the diagram on the dirty training ground. ''According to our case scenario, there are eight enemy ninjas placed here, here and here.'' He marked the spots with x's and continued. ''I'll use my Shadow Imitation technique to immobilize the three enemies that are placed over here,'' Shikamaru circled the three x's in question. ''while Naruto will use his-'' He stopped himself when he saw the expectant look in Naruto's eyes.

''No, Naruto. For the last time, we will _not_ use your retarded technique.''

''What! Why not? You said yourself that it was a cool technique!''

''I didn't say it was 'cool', I said it was nice enough for a stupid technique. Plus, it isn't necessary for our presentation. We'll just have Chouji use your binding seals.''

''Aw, would have been so funny. I could use it on Iruka-sensei too, as part of our 'demonstration', you know?'' he snickered evilly.

''No, you can't,'' Sasuke glared over at his friend.

''As I was saying...'' Shikamaru sighed. What a drag this project was. ''Naruto will use his shadow clones to take care of the other fives over there.'' Another circle, then he turned to Chouji. ''While we do that, you and Sasuke will go over to the temple where our scenario says the stolen goods are hidden and you'll use your Human Bullet technique to break down the barricades, then you'll come back to where we are to tie up all the enemies that Naruto and I are holding. Sasuke will enter the temple, beat up the guard and retrieve the goods. Got it?''

Everyone nodded. Shikamaru looked at Sasuke.

''Did you finish writing the report?''

''Yeah.'' Sasuke took out a scroll from his back pouch. ''Wanna go over it?''

''Nah,'' Shikamary replied dismissively with a lazy wave of his hand. ''I'm sure it's fine.'' Sasuke rolled his eyes as he placed it back. He should have expected this.

''Say, Naruto.'' Shikamaru turned to the shorter boy. ''I think Iruka-sensei would be impressed if you used your shadow clones to act as the enemies. It would make the demonstration more realistic.'' Naruto lit up in excitement at that. The other two team members nodded in approval.

''That's a great idea! You're the man, Shikamaru!'' Naruto got up on his feet and instantly summoned eight clones. ''What should they look like?'' Shikamaru shrugged nonchalantly. ''The scenario doesn't say which village the enemy is from. So I don't know... just make them look like bad guys.''

Naruto went silent for a moment. _Enemies,_ he thought to himself with a sharp expression on his face. Shikamaru, Chouji and Sasuke exchanged a wary look before looking at Naruto again. All traces of excitement had left his features; only bitterness remained as his clones formed their hand signs.

''Henge,'' Naruto said simply. Smoke cleared out and revealed eight tall ninjas all dressed in midnight black. Barely any skin was visible as they all wore the same standard shinobi outfits coupled with black face masks and headbands that covered their hair. One, strange thing stood out though was the plates on their forehead protector. It did not bare any village emblem. Instead, the kanji character for 'death' was carved on the metal.

Everyone was quiet for a while. Shikamaru was the first to break the silence.

''Is this what the attackers of your village looked like, Naruto?'' Naruto was surprised that Shikamaru had guessed so rapidly. However, if there was one thing that he had learned about the lazy Nara during this project, it was that the guy was a lot smarter than he let on. He nodded.

''Yeah.''

''Hn,'' Sasuke grunted. ''What a bunch of cowards, not showing which village they're from.''

''Either they didn't come from a specific village, or they came from several and formed an alliance,'' Shikamaru muttered, pinching his chin deep in thought.

Naruto stared at his lazy friend in wonder. It was immensely impressive to Naruto how easily he came up with his theories. He glared down to the ground. Naruto knew the Akatsuki was behind the attack itself, but he also knew that it wasn't a large organization and only had a handful of members. One thing his father and the Hokage hadn't found out yet was who exactly were the other hundreds of ninjas who had helped the Akatsuki with the invasion.

''How would you do it if you wanted to find that out?'' Naruto asked Shikamaru.

''Hm...'' Shikamary pondered on the question, then gazed up at Naruto again. ''A lot of enemy ninjas must have died too during the attack.'' Naruto nodded, urging Shikamaru to continue. ''I would spy other villages' activities to see if there's an abnormal decrease in the missions they accept. I would concentrate on past enemy nations or villages who would gain a long-term economical advantage by having one less competitor to deal with.''

OoOoO

''Thank you for joining us so quickly, Minato.'' The Third said calmly as the blond sat down at the round table in the small conference room.

''Hokage-sama,'' Minato greeted politely, then turned to Jiraiya who was sitting near him. ''Welcome back sensei.''

''Let's jump right into the heart of the matter,'' Hiruzen suggested, eager to hear what his pupil had uncovered.

''Yes,'' Jiraiya nodded. ''As you ordered, I had my spy network infiltrate several villages to study their activities. Two villages became particularly quiet the first month after Uzushio's destruction: Hidden Sand and Hidden Sound.''

''So Orochimaru took part in this...'' Minato said darkly through his teeth. He slammed the table with his fist in anger. _Why? What did the bastard gain from doing this? Did the Akatsuki promise him power? And what about Suna?_ Hiruzen and Jiraiya shared a sad look. They truly pitied the man.

''There's also Hidden Stone which experience a decrease in mission activity. It's not as significant as the two others, but it's enough to be suspicious,'' Jiraiya added, crossing his arms seriously over his chest.

''Iwa certainly has a strong history in backstabbing,'' the Hokage said bitterly. ''I didn't expect this from Suna though, considering their already precarious situation. I'm shocked that the Kazekage would stoop so low.'' Minato, on the other hand, wasn't. Seeing how he wanted to turn his own son into a weapon, it seemed only logical that he would form an alliance with the Akatsuki of all people.

''So what do we do now?'' Minato asked, confused and hurt. ''Is this war?'' They couldn't just leave things be, could they? Hiruzen looked down, as if in shame, pursing his lips tightly together.

''I understand how you must be feeling, Minato, and Uzushio was our most faithful ally… but if you are asking me to send my village to war…'' Hiruzen trailed off warningly. He deeply regretted that he hadn't been able to send help in time to Uzushio, but it was too late now and he certainly didn't want to send more innocent people to their death for the sake of revenge.

''No, of course not,'' Minato said bitterly. ''But attacking an ally is much the same as a declaration of war, especially since you've taken my son in. He's the Kyuubi jinchuuriki now. Unless we leave this village, they will come for him, which means they _will_ attack this village.'' Minato clenched his fists furiously, frowning defiantly at the old Hokage. Hurizen closed his eyes calmly, weighting Minato's words. He knew where the blond was going with this.

''Minato,'' Hiruzen started gently, his tone fatherly. ''I am well-aware of the danger that's ahead of us, but don't misunderstand me; this village is your home. You and your son are under my protection.''

Minato's eyes widened slightly and tension left his body. He looked down, ashamed of himself for letting his emotions take over his better judgement.

''We will not divide our forces on different fronts,'' Hiruzen continued, deeply inhaling the tobacco from his pipe. ''We now know what they are capable of. We will wait for them to strike. Until then, we will prepare ourselves, and when the time comes, we will fight back.'' Hiruzen looked at the two younger men sharply, who stared in wonder at the old warrior before them. All those years of experience on the battlefield came back full force behind those wise eyes.

''I'm sorry. I spoke out of line.'' Minato bowed to his kage repentantly. Hiruzen simply smiled.

''Don't be. You are concerned about your son's future, it's only right.'' Hiruzen admired the man for bearing everything so well. He knew so many who had gone mad with rage and grief for much less than what Minato had been through. His skills, his integrity and his wisdom made him an inspiration to all.

 _Perhaps_ , Hiruzen mused to himself, _I will soon be able to retire._

OoOoO

\- - - Uzushio borders: Four months ago - - -

''Alright, let's stop here and wait for the recon team to come back with their report,'' Shikaku, the leader of the Search & Rescue operation ordered his troops. All shinobis present saluted and began setting camp.

Shikaku sighed heavily as he looked over his notes for the mission before turning his gaze towards the village only a few kilometres away. He was not looking forward to was would face them there. Children, civilians and fellow shinobis... all dead since three days now. He looked towards the hundreds of shinobis, as well as the many Konoha civilians who had volunteered. All missions had been suspended for chunins and above ranks in order to accomplish this major operation. It was the least they could do for their oldest ally.

''Sir.'' Shikaku was brought back from his thoughts by the small Ambu squad that had been sent to assess the situation. ''Ready to report.'' The masked ninja, also captain of the squad, saluted.

''What's the situation?'' Although Shikaku couldn't make out the ninja's expression because of the mask, the heavy silence spoke volumes of the horrors they were about to witness.

''It's... awful sir. Never seen something like this before.'' The ambu's voice sounded young. Shikaku guessed it was his first time seeing so many corpses at once. ''But that's not all, sir.'' Shikaku raised a curious brow at that. ''There is not a single enemy body.''

''What?!'' Shikaku exclaimed. He looked down to the ground, confused. ''No, I shouldn't be surprised,'' he finally admitted after a moment.

''Really?'' the ambu replied incredulously.

''It was a sneak attack and the enemy hid their identities. They probably made sure any dead among their troops would self-destruct or applied some other disposal system so we wouldn't find out about them. At least not now.''

''I see.'' All masked ambu ninjas exchanged a look then waited for Shikaku's next orders.

''Were you able to find the civil information centre?'' The ambu leader nodded.

''Yes, sir. It wasn't too badly damaged, fortunately. I have another team that should be arriving soon with the files of all the inhabitants.'' Shikaku sighed in relief. This would make the census much easier to manage.

''Well done. You can take your posts among the regular forces, now. I'm about to explain how we'll proceed.''

The teams were simple, but efficient.

Younger and inexperienced chuunins had been stationed to the census centre where they would take care of the paperwork and track who had been found and identified and who would be declared MIA.

Most doton experts had been dispatched to the neighbouring fields where they would dig the thousands of holes for the cemetery and take care of making the tombstones.

The field teams were composed of three-men cells. Each cell had a Hyuuga, an Inuzuka or an Aburame to facilitate the search for bodies or survivors, the only exception being Kakashi's team since he had a contract with nin dogs.

Civilians who could handle the sight had been dispatched equally among some of the cells to help with the digging or moving of large debris, while others had been assigned to miscellaneous tasks such as cooking meals for the troops or gathering wood for the campfires.

The Search and Rescue teams scattered throughout the village. Many of them were barely able to contain their horror, some even emptied their stomach at the desolated state the village had been left in. Most of the buildings were barely damaged; only the bigger, administrative or symbolic sites had been destroyed. The enemy had most likely wanted to destroy the heart of the village and everything that represented its strength.

The inhabitants, though, had not been spared.

The goal of the attack had been to erase sealmasters from this world, and they had succeeded. As Minato had explained to the Hokage, they had put all their chances on sheer number. There were probably three enemy ninjas for one Uzushio ninja. The attack had been swift and cruel. They had entered, killed and left. That was it. Now, thousands of bodies lay bloody and mutilated everywhere about the once pride village of Uzushio.

All Konoha could do was give them a proper burial.

OoOoO

 _With Kakashi_

''Kushina...'' Kakashi fell to his knees, voice trembling weakly as tears gathered in his eyes. He covered his mouth with his hand, feeling himself become ill. He willed himself to face her.

Her skin was pale, a sickly white that turned blue on her lips. Her hair was sprawled across the muddy soil and dried blood was staining her face and clothes everywhere. She had a large hole in the middle of her stomach, flesh and hints of what used to be her entrails clearly visible through all the blood-stained mud. The smell of early decomposition was all over the village, but only here did it finally seem to truly affect Kakashi.

He could only be grateful that his sensei was in the hospital and had been spared from this. He buried his face into his hands and tried to calm himself down.

''Kakashi...'' Kurenai told her teammate softly. ''Are you sure you're going to be okay?'' Beside her, Asuma nodded solemnly.

''We can take care of her, if you want,'' the dark haired man suggested.

''No,'' Kakashi replied firmly. Now was not the time to lose his composure. ''I'll be fine.'' He closed his eyes a moment, gathering the necessary force to go on with Kushina's burial. He would do this. For sensei's sake. He turned to the volunteer civilian who had been assigned to their team. ''Haruno-san, please bring the blanket over here.''

''Y-yes.'' Kizashi, still shaken by the desolated sight surrounding him, clumsily opened the large bag he was carrying and took out one of the many white blankets it contained. He unfolded it beside the red haired woman's corpse while Kakashi and Asuma moved over and carefully lifted her, placing her delicately on the blanket. Kakashi then washed the dried blood off her face, giving her the little dignity he could offer.

Asuma patiently waited for Kakashi to give his approval. The Sharingan user looked at the beautiful woman's face who, despite everything, looked peaceful. She had died protecting her only son… there was no regret on her features. He'd be sure to let sensei know. Kakashi closed his eyes, feeling the control over his emotion slip once more. He breathed in deeply, shakily, then nodded to Asume.

They folded the blanket over her body.

OoOoO

 _With Tokuma_

''We found a survivor!'' Inuzuka Tsume screamed as she reached camp along with her teammates, who were carrying a red haired woman on an improvised stretcher. ''Make way!''

Tokuma suddenly looked up from the census centre where his team had just finished reporting one of the bodies they had found and buried. Since he had gotten here, he had been scanning the village in hopes of finding Risa, but there were so many bodies, he hadn't been able to find her yet. He actually wished he never did; he desperately clung to the hope that Risa had somehow managed to escape the village and had left somewhere safe.

The medic team, who had been on standby until now, rushed over to where the woman was brought. As he watched the scene, Tokuma caught a glimpse of short red hair. His eyes widened and, seized by an indescribable anxiety, sprinted towards them. He pushed one of the medic nins unceremoniously and stood there, frozen.

It was her. It was Risa.

She was dead.

''Risa...'' he whispered, bringing a trembling hand to an ice-cold cheek.

''Tokuma-san, please let us work,'' another medic nin, a Hyuuga from the main family, told the broken man. ''We need to save this woman's baby.''

The last words hit Tokuma like a boulder to the head.

''B-baby?'' He looked down at her stomach and indeed, there was a distinctive bulge standing out. Through the fabric of her clothes, Tokuma could see the blue light emanating from what could only be a seal.

A seal that was keeping the human being within her alive.

Was the baby his? They did have a serious argument last time they had seen each other... but judging from the size of her belly, it was entirely possible that it was his. Unless... Tokuma shook his head furiously, cursing himself for thinking something so disgraceful. Risa would never have betrayed him. But how come she didn't tell him?

Tokuma clenched his fists, forcing himself out of his thoughts. Those things didn't matter right now. Risa's child was alive and he'd be damned if he let the precious being die here.

''She needs to be transported to Konoha hospital urgently. The baby cannot be born here. We need an incubator.''

''I'll do it. I'll bring her to Konoha,'' Tokuma said firmly. The Hyuuga medic looked questionably at him, then realization dawned on the medic's face. He had heard that a member of the branch family had gotten attached to an Uzumaki. _So it was him,_ the Hyuuga thought. The medic sighed deeply, but nodded. If there was anyone who would carry the task devotedly, it was this man.

OoOoO

\- - - Present Day - - -

''Dad?'' Minato looked up from his notes and looked towards the closed door of his study.

''You can come in.'' Naruto entered the room quietly and, after he was given permission, sat down at the low table in front of his father. Minato looked at him with half patience, half confusion; the boy looked somewhat despondent.

Minato was used to those episodes, however, as he was experiencing them himself. They were in the healing process, which meant some days they felt like they could move on, and then something or someone would remind them of what they had lost and how it could never be replaced. Helplessness, sadness, anger... both father and son had never truly realized what those emotions actually felt like until Uzushio's destruction.

''Did something happen?'' Minato asked his son kindly. The boy shrugged, not sure how he should go about it. Minato waited patiently, giving his son the time to find the proper words. Naruto decided to go for the direct approach, as he most often did.

''Did our village have lots of enemies? Were we hated by a lot of people?''

Minato pursed his lips together. He shouldn't be surprised to hear this. In fact, he had been waiting for that one. He still didn't feel prepared to answer. How could he possibly explain the complexity of the ninja world to his child? Minato tried to correct his mind frame. The little blond had stopped being a child after _that_ night.

''What brought this on?'' Minato wondered what had happened for Naruto to actually bring this up now. Naruto told his father about his meeting with his friends and more particularly about Shikamaru's guesses on who had attacked Uzushio.

Minato stared as he listened to the shorter blond. Shikaku's son already seemed more perceptive than his father was at that age. It was almost scary to imagine what the boy would be like when he reached adulthood.

''It's not about grudge or hate, Naruto.'' His son blinked in confusion at that. ''It's about power,'' Minato clarified. ''We are ninjas; we are instruments of war. Many of us seek power and would do anything to gain more.''

Naruto opened his mouth to protest and tell his dad that there was no war, but quickly stopped himself. The tranquility that had instated itself over the last decades turned out to be only temporary. Naruto's understanding of being a ninja had limited itself to learning techniques and train in order to get hired for various noble tasks; help people, protect others, retrieve stolen objects... He knew there had been wars before, and although they had been taught about them at school, Naruto had honestly never truly understood what they had been about. He wished he had paid more attention. Perhaps it would have helped him understand why his village had been destroyed.

''What's going to happen now?'' Minato looked sadly at his son.

''The Akatsuki will come back for the Kyuubi again.'' Naruto looked down in shame. He clenched his teeth together tightly, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. He didn't want what happened to Uzushio to happen here, in his new home. He didn't want to see the people he liked die once more before his eyes. He would rather die than let that happen. Minato frowned worriedly at his son. The little blond was very easy to read, and knowing his son's selfless tendencies, he was afraid it would translate in reckless behaviour.

Hence, Minato briefed Naruto on Jiraiya's research and the Sandaime's plans. It had pained Naruto deeply to learn that Gaara's village had participated in the attack. He sincerely hoped that his friend had not approved of his village's choice after what Uzushio had done for him. Still, Naruto deserved to know seeing as he was literally at the centre of it all. Minato also hoped it would reassure him to see that Konoha, unlike Uzushio, would be prepared for what was to come. Naruto placed his hands over his stomach, thinking of the Kyuubi. He knew it could only lead to more suffering. It had been Mito's and his mother's duty to not let that happen. Now it was his turn to carry the burden.

Thinking about Mito suddenly brought a curious light to Naruto's eyes. He abruptly got up, telling his father he would be right back. The boy ran out and soon came back with a strange-looking scroll in his hands. He set it on the table in front of his father and sat back down.

''This is one of the scrolls I took in the Library. I don't get much of it, but it had Mito's official signature stamp on it, so I thought it might interest you.'' Minato blinked curiously at that and promptly opened the scroll to scan its content. Minato's eyes widened when he realized what it contained.

It was Mito's own study of the Nidaime Hokage's Hirashin seal. Mito had apparently started to work on it and improve it using the Kobun, much like Minato has been doing for years now. Mito's notes were incomplete though. Judging from the shakiness of the calligraphy, Minato suspected she had started working on it towards the end of her life. Maybe this could help him improve his own version of the technique. He smiled gratefully at his son.

''Thank you, Naruto. This is very interesting material.'' Naruto gave him a bright smile, happy he could help his father in any way. ''Did you tell your friends about the kyuubi?'' Naruto shook his head no.

''You told me not to, so I didn't.'' Minato sighed in relief. He felt guilty for keeping his son from confiding in his friends. As a father, he had no doubt it would help Naruto if he didn't have to keep all those secrets from his friends.

''Once you graduate, I will allow you to tell them.'' Once they became actual ninjas, especially when Naruto would join a team, it would be important for them to be aware of its existence. For now, though, he would rather it be kept secret for a while longer. He suspected not everyone was going to be very accepting of the news.

''I might not tell them at all...'' Naruto said softly, looking down onto his lap. He doubt anyone would want to stay friends with him if they knew what he was carrying and the war and misfortune it would undoubtedly bring Konoha in the near future. Minato understood his son's fears, but that didn't mean he approved.

''I'm afraid you will have to. Hiding it from them will only put them in even greater danger. And don't underestimate the bond you share with your friends. I'm sure the people who truly care will support you no matter what.''

''You think so?''

''I'm sure of it.''

OoOoO

''Ugh, we've got to present today already,'' Ino sighed heavily as she sent on a wooden bench in the school yard. Sakura nodded in agreement beside her. They were a bit early for class, so they decided to have a little chat outside.

''Totally agree. I hope Kiba and Hinata won't screw things up.''

''Yeah, Kiba can be such an idiot sometimes. I'm not really worried about Hinata though.''

''I wouldn't be so sure. She's so shy… what if she freezes during the presentation?'' Ino rolled her eyes.

''It's not _that_ bad.''

''I hope so.''

''I can't wait to see Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun's performance, though!''

''Oh me too! I bet Sasuke-kun had to do all the work.''

''Naruto-kun isn't a slacker, I'm sure he worked hard on the project,'' Ino protested heatedly.

Not too far from them, the strange duo in question was walking into the school grounds. Naruto's refined hearing, thanks to the Kyuubi, picked up his and his friend's names.

''Hey Sasuke,'' Naruto whispered to his dark haired companion, ''I think they're talking about us.'' Sasuke rolled his eyes tiredly.

''Aren't they always?''

''I think they're arguing over which one of us is awesomer,'' Naruto snickered mischievously. ''The answer's pretty obvious.'' Sasuke snorted.

''Awesomer isn't a word, moron.'' Naruto graced him with a very mature grimace in response, then discretely moved closer to where the girls were talking and hid behind nearby bushes. Sasuke sighed in annoyance, but decided to follow him anyways. Better stay with Naruto to prevent the blond from doing something stupid. The two girls, not yet aware of the two boys near them, went on with their little chat.

''Traitor,'' Sakura teasingly accused Ino. ''I can't believe you betrayed Sasuke-kun to fawn over Naruto. Meh, one less rival to deal with, I guess.'' Ino huffed in indignation.

''Naruto-kun's super cute and he's _way_ nicer to everyone than Sasuke-kun.''

''Well, that's not really surprising. Naruto doesn't have it as bas as Sasuke,'' Sakura said nonchalantly.

Sasuke frowned sharply at the pink haired girl. He didn't like where this was going. He looked briefly at Naruto, who clearly seemed unsettled by what Sakura had said. He should get them out of here.

''I mean,'' Sakura continued, ''he's still got his father, while Sasuke-kun has no one.''

''I guess...'' Ino muttered uncertainly.

Naruto looked to the ground, saddened and hurt by what the girl had said. He silently walked away from the bushes and made his way to the school. _Serves me right for eavesdropping,_ he thought bitterly.

Sasuke, though, wasn't done with the girls yet. He walked over to them, earning a surprised gasp from the two.

''I knew you were shallow, Sakura, but I didn't think you'd stoop so low.''

''Sa-Sasuke, I didn't mean-'' Sakura had regretted her words when she saw Sasuke's angry look and Naruto's dejected form retreating towards the school. Her words had sounded much cruder than she had meant them to be, but she also hadn't expected them to be heard by Naruto and Sasuke of all people.

''Pain doesn't measure in numbers,'' Sasuke muttered darkly. He knew damn well what the pain of losing your family felt like, and it had nothing to do with number and everything to do with the bond you share. ''Naruto and I both lost people we loved. It ends there.''

Sakura and Ino looked down in shame. They both suddenly felt silly for talking so superficially about the two boys they claimed to admire. Sakura seemed especially repentant, but Sasuke was far from affected by the sight.

''You're annoying,'' Sasuke said through his teeth. He buried his hands into the pockets of his pants and walked away. _Really,_ he thought, frowning to himself, _it's time these two grow up already._

OoOoO

Sitting quietly at his usual spot in the classroom, Naruto found himself questioning all the feelings he had felt so far thanks to Sakura. It hurt to hear that people were actually comparing his and Sasuke's situation, but he supposed it was inevitable. He _was_ infinitely grateful to have his father with him, but to say that he should be less pained by his loss just seemed unfair and cruel. He sighed, willing his negative thoughts away. He knew Sakura hadn't meant it to be mean; she was ignorant and had lived a sheltered life. He couldn't blame her for that and he certainly didn't want her or anyone else to go through the same pain he did. She was better off not understanding for now. It will change soon enough once she starts her career as a professional kunoichi.

Sasuke entered the class and joined him at the back of the auditorium. As always, Sasuke sat down quietly with arms crossed, though instead of the neutral or bored expression he usually bared, there was a small, almost imperceptible, triumphant smirk. Naruto blinked curiously at that. Then, soon after him, Sakura and Ino came in with shamed expression on their faces. Naruto threw a small glare at Sasuke. Now he knew why he seemed in such a good mood. The girls walked meekly towards them.

''I'm sorry about what I said, Naruto. I really don't mean to disrespect you. I both admire you and Sasuke. I hope you can forgive me,'' Sakura said in a quiet voice. She knew for sure now that if she ever wished to win over Sasuke, she'd need Naruto's help for that. Naruto smiled kindly at her.

''Of course, no worries Sakura-chan.'' Naruto was always honest when he spoke and now was no exception. Sakura definitely looked taken aback at being forgiven so easily, and so did Ino, but she could also tell he had meant every word. She sighed in relief and thanked him wholeheartedly. The two girls, now back to their cheery selves, left to take their own usual seats.

Naruto turned towards his dark haired friend who was looking at him disapprovingly. The Uchiha sighed heavily. He should have known by now that Naruto would have reacted like that.

''You forgive too easily,'' he told his blond friend. Naruto shrugged nonchalantly and smiled.

''Makes up for your shitty temper,'' Naruto replied teasingly. Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked out to the window, waiting for another pointless class start.

Naruto smiled to himself. He really liked the people here.

OoOoO

''Thank you for coming,'' the Hokage told the blond, breathing deeply from his pipe.

''Of course, Hokage-sama,'' Minato replied, bowing respectfully to his leader.

Minato had been called to the Hokage's office after his mission. Iruka, Naruto's academy sensei, was also present. Minato looked a bit surprised at that. He knew the graduation exam was coming soon though, so perhaps this was what the meeting was about.

''Have a seat,'' Hiruzen told his guests. The two young men sat in front of the Hokage's desk, waiting patiently for the old man to speak . ''As you know, the graduation exam is coming up.'' Minato looked down seriously at his lap. This confirmed his suspicions, but to be honest, he would have preferred this moment to be delayed for a bit longer. He wasn't ready to let go of Naruto just yet. As horrible as it sounded, part of him actually hoped his son would fail.

''This year's cohort, however, is very unique.'' Iruka couldn'd help but nod in agreement. ''I called you here to have your honest opinion on some of the potential teams I would like to form, especially regarding your son and Uchiha Sasuke's,'' Hiruzen continued, this time focusing his gaze on Minato. The two younger ninjas nodded solemnly. Hiruzen took out the students' files and disposed some of them in teams of three.

''I think the Ino-Chika-Cho team should be preserved, however, I am not against breaking this formula should a better option present itself,'' Hiruzen said calmly. ''I'm telling you this because I am unsure whether or not Naruto and Sasuke should be placed on the same team.''

Iruka and Minato shared a look. Minato let Iruka speak first, since his view on the matter was bound to be more professional and neutral than Minato's.

''I think it would be better if they were, Hokage-sama.'' Minato's eyes widened slightly at this. He hadn't expected the teacher to approve of such a team. ''I think they are mutually dependent emotionally because of what they've been through and they motivate each other for training. I don't think it would help them if they were separated, at least for now. When they are older and more mature, I don't think it will be a problem.'' Hiruzen nodded, then turned to Minato.

''Do you agree with this?'' Minato pondered on the question for a moment. There were many angles to look at.

''In terms of strength, I think it would make a very uneven team compared to the others,'' Minato said, scanning over the student profiles. He was familiar with Naruto and Sasuke's abilities since he had witnessed them train together many times. When it came to brute force, they were very advanced for their age. It would be more advantageous to the other teams if their strength was shared more fairly... however... ''but I also agree with Iruka-sensei. They complete each other in many aspects and they will reach their potential faster if they are together. My only real fear is that the third team member might feel left out, and unity within a team is extremely important.''

''That will be their sensei's job,'' Iruka replied, stroking his chin pensively. He understood Minato's point of view, but a good sensei will make sure all three members work well together. Hiruzen smiled, smoke coming out through his nose.

''That's why I thought Kakashi would be the perfect sensei for them.''

''Kakashi?'' Minato blinked. He knew Kakashi had never passed a team so far, precisely because he had not seen the true potential for teamwork in them. Because of his Sharingan and his relationship with Naruto, Kakashi might seem like a biased sensei for Naruto and Sasuke's team, but Minato knew better than anyone else how much and _why_ teamwork was important to the special jounin. If there was one person who would make sure the team worked, it was him. Minato returned the Hokage's smile.

''I think it's a great choice.'' Hiruzen chuckled slightly.

''I'm glad you think so as well. Now that I know that both of you approve of Sasuke and Naruto being placed together, time to choose the third member.'' This question was actually more addressed to Iruka, since he knew the other students better. The Third took out another student's profile.

''Out of all the students who are likely to graduate this year, I think she is the best choice.'' Iruka took the paper and looked it over.

''Sakura, huh? Well, she's going to be ecstatic about being paired with Sasuke, that's for sure,'' the sensei sweatdropped, laughing awkwardly to himself. ''Still, I see why she'd be a good asset for the team. She's very intelligent and has excellent chakra control. What she lacks in strength she'll make up with her mind. She'll balance out the boys' recklessness,'' Iruka continued and nodded to himself. He thought of other students, looking over the other sheets. ''Hinata would have been a good choice too, but I think her talents are better suited for a tracking team,'' he admitted. The Hokage had probably placed her with Shino and Kiba for that very reason. ''No, Sakura will do well with them.''

Minato didn't know the girl, but her profiles seemed pretty impressive. There was a lot of potential there. He nodded approvingly.

''Excellent,'' Hiruzen smiled, inhaling from his pipe again. ''Looks like we've got our Team 7.''


	6. Growth

**Note:** YES. AN UPDATE. Sorry for taking so long. Hope you enjoy!

 **For DLB readers,** the outline of this chapter is basically this: a bit of new stuff – ''One Amazing School Trip'' – a bit of new stuff.

* * *

 **Silver Lining**

 _Growth_

''Pain-sama,'' Konan said calmly as she entered the large, barely lit meeting room where most of the other members had gathered. ''The Kazekage has arrived along with Sasori and a handful of Sand jonins.''

Her leader nodded at the information. Nagato's Rinnegan shined even through the darkness of the room. It never failed to send shivers down Konan's spine. She looked around her to see the silhouettes of her companions. Apparently, many of them wanted to know why the Kazekage was coming to them with the promise of a profitable alliance. They had put their missions on hold to witness the event. Though Konan suspected their purpose was to intimidate the little Kage. Even the lighting, or rather, lack there of, seemed a little more theatrical than usual.

''Let them in,'' Pain said at last once the last member entered the room; a recent addition to their group, Tobi. Konan did not like the man. His persona was obviously an act, but it so well-acted that she simply could not read the masked man's intentions. One thing was sure though; he seemed important enough to Nagato to wait for him before the meeting started. She frowned at that, but was not stupid enough to question her leader's priorities. Instead, she fetched their guests, as ordered.

When Rasa entered the dark, gloomy room, filled with powerful missing nins, he knew instantly that the Akatsuki was making it clear who would be in charge. He had expected nothing less, and it actually worked in his favour. If they thought this little _mise en scene_ was going to make him feel nervous or anything equally silly, they were grossly mistaken. If the Kazekage had to be honest with himself though, the reason he was not feeling anything was rather because he knew he had nothing to lose. It was only a matter of years before his village went completely bankrupt. If he died today, he knew he had done everything in his power and that he was just not the one meant to save Suna from ruin. He had accepted that long before the date and place of this meeting had finally been decided.

Not waiting for the Leader to say anything, Rasa unceremoniously took one of the available seats around the large round table. His men stayed standing further back into the room. Their coming along was more of a formality than anything else. He knew very well none of them, including himself, did not stand a chance against the group of dangerous men before them.

The long moment of silence that followed was not awkward. It was heavy and terrifying. There were no other words to describe it.

Rasa took some comfort in the fact that he hadn't been killed yet; that the Akatsuki had not agreed to meet only because it would be easier to kill him and hence, easier to steal the Ichibi. He concluded that the Akatsuki was actually interested in this alliance.

''I have come here to form an alliance with you. I wish to destroy Uzushiogakure. It will be easier for you to get the Kyuubi with the help of my soldiers and in exchange I will willingly hand over the Ichibi to you once it is over.'' Now that he knew it would be impossible to exploit Gaara's potential, he saw no reason to keep him. Destroying Uzushio would be a good help to his village financially, and that was enough for the time being.

Some of the cloaked shadows around the table snorted at the proposition. Did the Kazekage really think giving them the Icibi would be enough compensation? They could kill him right now and barge into his pitiful village and get the demon themselves without breaking a sweat. What a fool.

''Straight to the point. I like this guy,'' Tobi told Nagato, pointing rudely towards the Kage. ''I thought we'd have more in it though. Kinda disappointing,'' Tobi sighed dramatically; his whole body language screamed 'bored'.

''Uzushiogakure's defence is ridiculously strong. They've reinforced it since the last war. It will not be easy to get in, even with all our strengths combined.'' Itachi surprised everyone with his contribution. That was probably the most they had heard him say since he had joined the group.

Nagato shifted his gaze from his guest to the young Uchiha. Nagato had sent him to Uzushio for preliminary scouting of the village before an eventual attempt to capture the Kyuubi. The dark haired ninja had just come back from his mission and Nagato had not yet had the opportunity to get his report. What the Uchiha just said confirmed his suspicion. A report was no longer needed.

''Breaking through the barrier will not be a problem for me,'' Pain said evenly, voice low and not an ounce of pride or conceit in it. He was merely stating a fact. Itachi hid his surprise with practiced ease. Pain turned his attention back to the Kazekage again. ''Do you plan on using the Ichibi during the attack on Uzushio?''

Rasa stared. Did this mean that Pain would partake in this? He honestly wasn't sure. This organization was confusing... he didn't even know what their ultimate goal was, but it truly didn't matter. Not to him and not for now, at least.

''No. I don't think that will be possible. As you already know,'' he sent a brief look towards Sasori, ''The Uzumaki made a new, much sturdier seal on my son. I doubt he will have learned to have any decent control over the beast's powers by the time I am ready to proceed with the invasion.''

Pain nodded solemnly. He had expected as much. It didn't matter though; their forces would be enough, but they would probably lose more men than he meant to. Still, it was a worthy sacrifice, as eliminating the Uzumaki clan -and the rest of their village- would make gathering the bijuus much easier. He was secretly grateful that the Suna leader had come on his own will and suggested this alliance. The man didn't need to know that, of course.

Nagato then looked towards the furthest corner of the room. Also catching onto the new presence, Tobi did not hesitate to put the newcomer on the spot.

''Looks like we have a surprise guest! Come on, don't be shy. You were one of us before, weren't you?''

Rasa blinked, not understanding what was going on. He followed the others' gazes and saw an unknown figure amidst the shadows. A low sneer resounded through the thick concrete walls and yellow eyes appeared. The figure moved forward, revealing a man the Kazekage had not expected to see here.

Orochimaru, one of Konoha's legendary sannins.

''What is _he_ doing here?'' Rasa spit out, letting some of his composure slip.

''My shinobis have been keeping a close watch on several villages' activities. When I found out the Kazekage himself, with only a couple of his men, left the village for a secret meeting, I just couldn't resist my curiosity.''

The Kazekage tightened his lips together in frustration. He had been extremely precautious in order to avoid anyone finding out about this meeting. This could be very problematic. He hoped, at the very least, that the snake-like clown was the only outsider who had found him out.

''I take it you want to partake in the attack,'' Pain told the snake. Although Orochimaru had not been part of the Akatsuki for long, he had been with them long enough for Nagato to figure him out. He was a simple man, despite what everyone else thought, and had a one-track mind in his own confusing, backstabbing way.

Rasa did not like where this was going. Orochimaru had not been part of the equation and he had no idea why the hell he would bother with this invasion.

''Indeed. In only a few years, my cursed seals should lead to interesting outcomes and I would like to try out my new lil' soldiers on strong opponents. Uzushio seems like the perfect target practice.'' An experiment? Was this all Orochimaru wanted out of this? Rasa doubted it. He would have to stay on his guard.

''Then it's settled,'' Pain told both Orochimaru and the Kazekage, ''You will prepare and train your shinobis from your respective villages for what's to come. Five years should be enough. Perhaps there are others who would profit from Uzushio's destruction, but with our combined forces alone, the village will not stand even one night. It will be quick and deadly. We will get the Kyuubi then, and you,'' he said looking directly into Rasa's dull brown eyes, ''will hand over the Ichibi when we will see fit.'' Dividing the causalities among a third party of enhanced ninjas was a welcome addition to Nagato's plan. This was turning out to be much easier and profitable than he expected.

OoOoO

 _\- - - Uzushio: two months before meeting Gaara - - -_

''I'm home!'' Minato said loudly as soon as he entered the house. _I hope Naruto isn't gone yet._ He thought as he quickly took off his sandals and hurried out of the entrance hall. _Hmm... I can sense two chakra signatures, so I guess not._

''Glad you could make it in time.'' Nadeko, Kushina's mother, smiled when she saw her son-in-law in the hallway.

''Yeah,'' Minaot smiled politely. ''Thanks again for looking after Naruto, Nadeko-sensei.'' He bowed lightly to his old fuinjutsu mentor.

''How many times have I told you to drop the 'sensei' already? We're family, for god's sake!'' Nadeko scolded, shaking her head half-amused, half-exasperated.

''About a hundred times?'' he replied cockily. Nadeko chuckled.

''Naruto's getting ready upstairs. I just kissed him goodbye, so I'll be going now.'' She informed him, making her way towards the door. Minato turned to watch her leave.

''You're not coming to the tutoring session?''

''Nah.'' Nadeko waved her hand dismissively, not even looking back at him. ''There's only so much of Hiroto I can stand.'' Minato snickered to himself at that. Despite the rather large age difference, it was clear that the old lady had a thing for the clan leader. Both had been left widow and widower since the Third War. However Nadeko, who like Kushina was rather proud and obstinate, would rather die than admit her crush. She knew it was one-sided anyway. It reminded Minato of Jiraiya and Tsunade's own situation.

''Alright, thanks again!'' Minato called out as Nadeko exited the house. He turned towards the stairs and wasted no time to quickly check up on Naruto, who let out a loud and happy 'welcome back!' before Minato got himself ready as well for the tutoring session.

Once he entered his and Kushina's bedroom, he instantly took off his clothes and threw them on the ground. _Kushina would kick my ass for doing that if she was here._ He opened his wardrobe and took out the Uzumaki clan's traditional ninja wear. It was a simple black 3-piece set: a large-sleeved kimono going down mid-thigh with the Uzumaki symbol embroidered on the shoulders, three-quarter pants and sandals which went a little higher on the shin than other standard models. In times of war, the suit was accompanied with grey leather armours that were worn over the kit. However, in peaceful events like the tutoring sessions, the Uzumakis instead wore a large black obi tied at the back and plated at the front. On the metal plate was, of course, the Uzumaki clan symbol. They loved to plaster it everywhere they could.

Putting on the suit made him think about Nadeko and Hiroto again. He remembered the scene Naruto's grandmother had made last time she accompanied Naruto to the session while both Minato and Kushina had been out on missions. She had showed up in casual clothing and Hiroto had been insulted and had let her know. _''You're too damn uptight! I'm not gonna dress up for some old man studying fuinjutsu with kids! Who do you think you are?''_ Naruto had made the most comical yet disturbingly accurate imitation of his grandmother when he told his parents that story. Minato and Kushina had nearly pissed themselves laughing. Hiroto, though without a doubt a great leader, was extremely conservative. Nadeko, on the other hand, did whatever the hell she wanted and certainly didn't go overboard with clan traditions. Needless to say, that had clashed into epic fights in the past.

''Come on dad. I want to show you something before we go.'' Minato found Naruto waiting for him outside of his bedroom, also dressed up in his clan's gears. The little seven-year-old grabbed his dad's hand into his own and dragged him into the kitchen. He pointed towards the table, where Minato found a few sheets of paper. One of them was Naruto's mid-term report card (which he would examine closer later, though he wasn't worried about his son's results) and another was a parental consent form for a school trip.

''Can I go? It looks really awesome! We're actually going outside of the village and we'll go all the way to Konoha, you know? That's where you come form, right dad? I'm so excited!'' Naruto's enthusiastic outburst elicited both an amused chuckle and genuine interest on Minato's part. ''Plus, they say they want a couple of parents to come as accompanying adults. Would you like to come?'' That certainly increased Minato's interest.

''All the way to Konoha, huh? Yeah, I'd love to go with you. I'll ask for a break from missions. It's been a while since I've gone to my native village.'' _Two years to be exact, since my last mission in collaboration with Konoha nins._

''Wahoo!'' Naruto cheered, literally jumping with happiness.

With this new information, Minato quickly scanned the sheet again for more details. All three groups of grade two students, along with their homeroom sensei, would leave for this trip, lasting eight days in total. They would leave early from school about three weeks from now and visit some memorials and shrines within and around Uzushio to learn about their history and culture. On their way to Konoha, they would go through a little survival training in the forest. They would then visit the infamous Uzumaki Clan's Mask Storage Temple located in the outskirts of Konoha before spending three days in the village.

''That sounds like a very interesting trip,'' Minato said, pretty impressed by the schedule attached to the consent form. It wasn't a cheap school trip, but considering all the stuff they'd be doing and how long they'd be gone, the price was actually pretty reasonable.

''Yeah.'' Naruto smiled at his dad. Minato eagerly mirrored it, then he was reminded of the time. He looked up at the clock on the wall.

''Shoot! We gotta go Naruto. I'll sign this later.'' Before Naruto even had the time to utter a syllable, Minato gathered him up in his arms and used his Hirashin jutsu to get to master Hiroto's home. Putting his seal about everywhere in the village had been one of the best ideas he's had lately.

Once inside the study room, he put down Naruto who hurried to kneel in seiza beside his dear cousin Karin. The two greeted each other with their usual happy chatter; the two considered each other siblings, since didn't have any of their own. Like Naruto, Karin had started the tutoring almost two years ago. It seemed appropriate to have them tutored at the same time.

Minato greeted master Hiroto and Nanami, Karin's mother, and her husband politely and apologized for being late. He took his usual spot with Nanami and her husband on the side of the large sandbox in the room, opposite to their children, while Hiroto was at the far extremity of the rectangular sandbox. Once properly seated in seiza, Minato did like everyone else in the room and hid his hands within the sleeves of his kimono, as was customary in the clan.

''Look what my mom brought, Naru-chan,'' said Karin who had recently turned nine years old. She turned to reach for a small basket. She lifted the small piece of fabric and a delicious smell filled the room. Inside were homemade cookies made from a combination of vanilla and chocolate dough. They were rolled and cooked together to form a swirl, like the Uzumaki symbol.

''It smells really good. Thanks, auntie Nana!''

''You're welcome, Naruto-chan!'' Nanami almost squealed. Minato and his brother-in-law exchanged a look only _the two of them_ could understand. Nanami and Kushina liked to go on about how their kids were the cutest in the entire frigging universe. The two sisters could literally spend hours sharing anecdotes about their respective child. Their husbands, poor souls, had to endure their loud, endless, squealy chatter.

''Feel free to get yourselves some refreshments, as usual,'' Hiroto told the children with a caring smile. He gestured towards the low table against the wall on which tea, milk, and other refreshments were placed.

''Today's seal,'' Master Hiroto started once everyone was ready, ''will be an absorption seal.'' He took the wooden stick in his hand and gracefully carved in the seal. ''It is used both as a defence and attack seal in battle. It is meant to have the opponent's attacks backfire at them.''

The two children listened attentively to their respected tutor under the proud eyes of their parents.

OoOoO

The morning of the school trip, Naruto was beside himself with excitement. He woke up way earlier than necessary; Kushina literally had to order him to go back to bed for at least another hour. Kushina was not a morning person. She'd do pretty much anything for even just a few more blessed minutes of sleep. Not even her precious son's cheerful wake up call could convince her to get out of bed. Naruto was really a handful to deal with sometimes.

At a more reasonable hour, the little family got ready for the day. After a hearty breakfast, Minato and Naruto got dressed and gathered their things for their trip while Kushina got ready for her mission.

''Uhg...'' Kushina sighed dramatically, looking at her two favourite boys. Minato wore his standard uniform and Uzushio forehead protector, while Naruto was in his traditional black clan gears (the required dress code for the outing). ''I would have much preferred to go with you guys.'' She mock-sniffled as she hugged her son then kissed her husband goodbye.

''Be safe, mom,'' Naruto told his mother with the unusually soft tone he always had when one of his parents left on mission. Kushina fought the urge to squeal and hug him again.

''You too, honey. Listen to your dad and teachers.''

''I will!'' And the family parted ways.

Once at the academy, Naruto and his father joined the group of children and adults already waiting outside. All children, as instructed, also wore their clan's standard black gears. Since they would make an official visit to Konoha and meet their Hokage, the Uzushio Academy teachers thought it was best to keep a certain degree of decorum. Once everyone had arrived and the last details were settled, the group, led by Uzumaki Risa, Naruto's homeroom teacher, started their little journey.

Their first stop was at the village's Great Temple of Seals, which most students had already seen during their clans' various ceremonies or rites as well as during different village festivities. Risa reviewed some of them with the children then continued with the history of the temple, its artefacts and the reason for its foundation. Uzumaki Shagun, also the founder of the village, had it built in memory of her fallen comrades during their long journey here. The ancestors of Uzushiogakure had been a group of northern nomad tribes who had endured many battles and hardships before deciding to settle down on the island. Their foreign origin was what was believed to be the explanation for their unusually long lifespan.

The next stop was the village's Gallery of Heroes, situated in the biggest public park of Uzushio. It constituted in two rows of granite sculptures of important figures of the village facing each other. Among them was Uzumaki Mito herself as the first Jinchuuriki of the Ninetails and one of the greatest Fuinjutsu masters. Again, one of the teachers in charge proceeded to lecture the students on each of the important figures.

They then moved on to the cemetery where a large commemorative shrine was built. Within it, large carved stones stood tall for each of the tragedy the village had suffered through, including all three shinobi wars and another particular event:

''Can one of you tell me why you think this shrine was built after the Second War?'' Seiwa Kenichi-sensei, a member of the village's second most important clan, asked the students before him. He was this year's weapons instructor; unsurprising considering the clan was notorious not only for their seals, but also for their prowess with the wakizashi.

Much to Minato's surprise, Naruto was among the students who had their hands up to answer the question. Knowing Naruto, and also basing himself from his report cards, Minato knew he wasn't very interested in the more 'intellectual' courses such as history and culture.

''Naruto-kun?''

''I think it was because of the invasion.'' Ever the eloquent speaker, Naruto proceeded to retell the event in his own colourful terms. ''Hidden Mist and Hidden Rock ganged up on us because we were still weak, and low on active ninjas from the Second War. They figured they could get vengeance for kicking their butts during the war, you know? It was tough, but we ended up kicking their butts along with Konoha again big time!''

Minato scratched his head sheepishly at Naruto's simplified and childish retelling of the attempted invasion. Still, he was pretty impressed Naruto got the gist right.

''That's right, Naruto-kun.'' Kenichi nodded with his usual straight face, long since immune to Naruto's flamboyant personality. ''And can you tell me how we managed to defeat them?'' Minato looked down at his son, curious to see if he would get that right too.

''Yeah! It was because of our super special Barrier Seals!'' Minato smiled.

''Very good. Some of the enemy ninjas managed to enter our village, but we were quick to activate our Barrier Seals, keeping the rest out of our village, but that also keept us in. We fought off those who were in, but the ones outside surrounded and outnumbered us. So we went into siege for… Actually, do any of you remember how long the siege went on?'' Another few kids raised their hands.

''One month!'' One student cried out.

''Exact.'' Kenichi continued. ''We were not prepared for such a long siege and since we live on an island, we were cut off from our supplies. Iwagakure and Kirigakure thought they would defeat us like this, but that was not the case. Do you remember what happened next?''

''We got help from Konoha.'' One kid said.

''How? It was a secret invasion. We couldn't contact Konoha, because we were prisoners in our own village, right?'' When no kids seemed able to give the answer, Kenichi went on. ''During the siege, we managed to dig a tunnel without being detected. We sent a small squad to Konoha to get help. It took some time before the reinforcements arrived; by then, we couldn't keep our Barrier activated. Many of our ninjas died of chakra exhaustion form keeping the barriers active. Fortunately, the reinforcements arrived before we sustained too much damage. The shrine was built in memory of those who defended our village.''

''Does the tunnel still exist?''

''No,'' Kenichi explained. ''We destroyed it soon after the battle.''

OoOoO

After a full busy day around the village, the students moved into the forest after a short lecture about the whirlpools in the surrounding rivers of the island. Once there, they settled camp and sat in front of one of their teachers who led a discussion on what was learned today. The kids were set free to do what they liked; they mostly told each other scary stories around the fire before they went to sleep. Tents had been set up with groups of five children plus one adult in each one. It made Minato feel incredibly nostalgic; it had been a while since Naruto had slept snuggled up against him like this.

The next day was the start of their three-day survival training. Each day before they reached Konoha, the children would have certain challenges to face, all of which were meant to assess their skills, but also their ability to cooperate with others. They didn't mention the last part to the students though. The teachers and accompanying adults were distributed among the groups; their role was to stay hidden in order to take notes on their performance and to only intervene if a student's life was in danger.

Minato was a little disappointed when he was assigned to a group in which his son didn't belong, but he wasn't surprised either. Teachers probably wanted to avoid bias. Minato was still curious to know how Naruto would fair.

During the first day, the students were not allowed to use their rationed food; they were given a scroll with information about the fauna around the village and their mission was to survive and find edible food and drinking water in the forest.

''You will be tested on this when we're back to school,'' Risa had informed them, earning loud whines from the kids. ''When you'll be a ninja on the field, you probably won't have a scroll that tells you what you can or can't eat. The info's gotta be in your head, folks!''

At the end of the day, Minato found Naruto's skin tone slightly greener than it should.

''I guess we'll have to review those together at home,'' Minato told his son. The older blond rubbed his child's back while the latter drank some water to dilute the harmless poison.

The second day, teachers had set booty traps about everywhere in their vicinity during the night. The aim of the traps was to slow the kids down; they were given a scroll containing fictional secret information to deliver within a certain time frame. If they didn't reach their destination in time, the scroll would deteriorate itself.

At the end of the day, Minato found his son with many bruises which seemed caused by rope burns and falls.

''I bet you just jumped ahead without thinking, right Naruto?'' Minato sighed, a little exasperated as he treated the wounds. Naruto was having the hardest time learning how to think before taking action.

''Well, it's not my fault one of my teammates just spent so much time looking around for traps! I was scared the scroll would expire, you know?''

''And how is getting yourself caught into traps going to help your team move faster?'' Naruto looked down on the ground, suddenly feeling ashamed.

''Good job, Uzumaki,'' Naruto's overly careful teammate spit out sarcastically. ''Thanks to you, we didn't get to the teachers in time. We failed!'' Minato frowned at that and almost intervened, but decided to let his son have the chance to defend himself.

''I'm sorry...'' Minato was completely taken aback by Naruto's submissive reply. He thought Naruto would jump up and argue his point like he always did.

''I don't think this is worth looking for a fight, kid. You are all here to make mistakes and learn,'' Minato told the kid. Naruto maybe hadn't acted in the most... sensible manner, but he certainly didn't deserve to be treated like this. Naruto was always respectful of others in his own clumsy way, so he deserved much the same respect at least.

''Whatever!'' The kid stormed off, clearly looking pissed. Naruto still looked chastised. Minato didn't like to see Naruto like that. He really didn't.

If the two previous days had showed Minato that his son still had a long way to go, the third one reminded him how _proud_ he was of his son and how much of a great ninja he would become.

The teachers had placed seals on various body parts on the children that caused paralysis. It was meant to simulate injury, though without inflicting pain on the children. Each team was to find three hidden scrolls and bring them to the teacher waiting for them at the meeting point, which was several kilometres away from Konoha.

Some children had worse paralysis than others, some were lucky and didn't any. In Naruto's case, he couldn't use his left arm.

What Minato saw at the end of the day made him grin broadly. Not only had his son's team found all three scrolls in time, but they had all made it all together. Some other teams had made disastrous choices; leaving 'heavily injured' teammates behind to find the scrolls. Other teams, like Minato's assigned one, had spent so much time arguing about which of them was the most useless that they hadn't found any of the scrolls. However, Naruto's team had performed their mission flawlessly. Minato found out through his son's assigned watcher that Naruto had refused to let anyone behind. He had carried the same kid he had a fight with yesterday almost the entire mission, since he was paralysed in both legs. All members had used their strengths to their advantages to accomplish the mission. It must have been hard on the Uzumaki pride for Naruto to help the kid like he did. Then again, Naruto was such a stickler for principles for a child his age, it wasn't all that surprising. It still made Minato damn proud.

''Alright, you've done well these past three days. I'm proud of you all. But I think today's winning team deserves a little reward.'' Risa exclaimed as one other teacher took out a storage scroll, activated it and a little box of candies poofed out of it. Kenichi distributed them among Naruto's team, while the other kids whined enviously or stared with their mouth watering.

''They're so lucky!'' One kid said.

''How come they get some, but we don't? We won yesterday's challenge!''

As some kids complained and others simply pouted, Naruto looked down at the candies in his hands, then his teammates, then the others.

''Wait guys, listen!'' Naruto said out loud, catching all the kids' attention, even stopping some from unwrapping a candy. Naruto blushed slightly, then looked back down at his candies.

''If we keep just one candy and give out the rest,'' Naruto explained to his teammates, ''then everyone gets a candy!'' To prove his point, Naruto gave out all but one of his candies. Everyone was quiet. Naruto's teammates exchanged some looks. One seemed particularly reluctant to share his candies, but he still thought it would be fairer this way. Also, they didn't want to look selfish compared to Naruto, so everyone followed the blond's example.

''Awesome!''

''Thanks a lot, Naruto!'' The kids went on exclaiming their happiness, and that made Naruto's team feel good. It made Minato even more proud. His son was the best! Then, all the kids' attention was brought back to the teachers who had suddenly started clapping their hands.

''Congratulation! That was actually the final challenge. And thanks to Naruto, your team passed. If we all respect and care for each other, our village will be stronger. We can't fight enemies if we fight among ourselves, remember that folks! So...'' Risa opened a storage scroll of her own. This time, an enormous basket full of other treats appeared. ''To congratulate you on your efforts these past three days, _everyone_ will get treats!''

The kids literally went _wild_ with joy as they proceeded to gather around the basket to get some more treats. Minato, sitting on the ground against a tree, looked on the scene with nostalgic eyes. It was good to be young and carefree. Soon enough, Naruto joined him and sat beside him, hands full of treats.

''Today was the best!'' Minato grinned and ruffled his son's hair affectionately.

''You did very well today, Naruto-chan.''

''Oh, look dad.'' Naruto handed him out a little plastic-wrapped cake. ''There were some lemon cakes in the basket. I got one for you. They're your favourite, right?''

''Thank you.'' Minato smiled, resisting the urge to hug his son tight. He knew Naruto would protest and say it's embarrassing in front of his classmates. _But he's just so cute!_

''Hey, Uzumaki.'' It was that kid from yesterday again. This time, however, the boy wasn't meeting Naruto's eyes. He looked like he was embarrassed. _Ha! Serves you right for treating Naru-chan like that,_ Minato couldn't help but think. That was definitely Kushina's influence on him.

''Thanks for today,'' the kid admitted with a quiet voice, kicking the ground distractingly.

''No problem!'' Naruto replied cheerfully. ''Without your detection skills, we never would have found the scrolls, you know?'' The kid looked at Naruto with wide eyes. He thought for sure Naruto would jump on the occasion to nag at him as revenge for yesterday, Minato could tell. _Well kid, my Naruto isn't like that._ The kid smiled.

''But I wouldn't have found them if you hadn't carried me around.''

''Turns out we make a good team!''

''Yeah.'' The kid's smile widened.

OoOoO

The group set out for the Uzumaki Clan's Mask Storage Temple first thing in the morning. It was a very impressive building with a myriad of Oni Masks plastered on the walls inside the temple. Each mask had a special meaning or story behind it, and some even had powerful seals within them that could accomplish great things. One even invoked the Shinigami itself. That had impressed the kids like nothing else. The temple was protected at all times by an intricate locking seal that only few of the Uzumakis (that included Risa) could open. Risa reminded them of how lucky they were and how much of an honour it was for them to see it with their own eyes.

They arrived in Konoha early in the afternoon. They were welcomed by two jounins which were none other than Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi. On their way to the Hokage Tower, the kids marvelled at the size of the village and started comparing it to Uzushio.

''Wow... It's so huge!'' Naruto told his father as he looked around him. The buildings weren't as tall as in Uzushio, but he could still tell that Konoha was at least three times the size of his native village. ''And is that the Hokage Mountain?'' The class had reviewed the history of Konoha before going on their trip. ''It's a lot bigger than I thought too.''

''Yup, that's it.'' Minato smiled. He was happy he could be there for the first time his son visited the village.

''That's right, your dad's from Konoha,'' Yui, a new friend of Naruto's, said in her usual soft voice. ''Mister, which one is the one we will meet again?''

''The last one on the right; Lord Third. He looks older now, though.''

They were greeted at the Hokage Tower by a young Chunin working at the welcome desk. Said Chunin made the kids visit the tower, then guided them all the way to the top to the Hokage's office. The kids looked in awe at the old man in his Hokage robes leisurely smoking his pipe.

Sarutobi introduced himself to the kids and questioned them about what they knew about the Kage-system and the history of Konoha. The Third hadn't been surnamed The Professor for nothing. The kids listened attentively as the old man told his stories and educated them about the village and their special relationship with Uzushio, tracing the history all the way back to the First Hokage.

Their three-day expedition would forever be burnt into the kids' memory. In between educational activities, the teacher had organized a few surprises like a trip to the natural hot springs (which they didn't have in Uzushio) and even went to the movie theatre one night. They also slept at the hotel, which was way more comfortable than tents. In their free time, mostly during the evening, Minato would take that opportunity to take Naruto out for his own personalized tour of the village as well as to meet up with Kakashi. Naruto had missed him; it had been a while since the grey haired jounin's last visit.

On the last day in Konoha, the teachers had another special event planned out for them.

''Where are we going next, Kenichi-sensei?'' One kid asked as they walked about in the village. The weapons instructed pointed towards a large building in front of them.

''Konoha's Ninja Academy.''

''What?'' Some kids exclaimed.

''I hope we won't have lessons!'' Another said aloud, earning some chuckles from the adults.

Rather than going inside the building, as the kids and the accompanying parents expected, they went straight to the training ground where another group of kids were practicing taijutsu.

''Okay kids, take a break! Let's meet our special guests I mentioned earlier,'' a young browned haired, bronze-skinned academy teacher said. The man had a large scar going across his nose, which didn't fail to catch the Uzushio kids' curiosity. The Konoha kids gathered up behind their sensei, who went and greeted Risa.

''Welcome to our humble academy, Uzumaki-san.''

''Thanks for having us, Umino-san.'' Iruka smiled at the instructor, then looked at his guest's students.

''Oh, I thought your group was also in grade two,'' Iruka said in a whisper, slightly confused. He was pretty sure he had read the letter right though.

''They are,'' Risa confirmed with a wink. ''We just grow a little slower in our village.''

''Right!'' Realization dawned on Iruka. Minato, too, suddenly noticed the difference. He was so used to living in Uzushiogakure that all kids looked like they were aging normally to him. But now that he could compare them to Konoha's seven-year-olds, it was true that the Uzushio kids looked around a year younger. _Uh... That's really interesting,_ Minato mused.

''Alright guys. I want you to welcome Uzumaki-san's group of students from Uzushiogakure. As you know, they've been faithful allies of ours since the founding of Konoha. Don't judge them on their appearance; they're the same age as you!'' Iruka's students shared excited whispers among themselves.

''So what do you say, Umino-san? Your strongest student against mine?'' Risa challenged with her signature cocky attitude. Iruka's smile widened.

''Great idea!'' All the kids from both villages cheered out in excitement. Feelings of pride and competition enveloped the atmosphere around them.

Iruka used a simple Doton jutsu to heighten the ground floor into a circular arena, much like a standard Sumo wrestling rink.

''The rules will be simple,'' Iruka started, using his teacher-voice. ''No fatal injuries allowed. The spar will last five minutes. To win, you must either knock out your opponent or throw him out of the rink. Understood?''

''Yes!'' All kids said at the same time.

''Good.'' Iruka smiled again. ''Sasuke, come on up.'' All the girls in Sasuke's class, and even some from Uzushio, fawned over their favourite prince. Sasuke smirked and went to take his spot on the rink, as confident as usual.

''An Uchiha, huh? Alright.'' Risa looked at her students who were all fidgeting with anticipation and excitement. Who would she choose? ''Uzumaki Naruto, I'm counting on you!'' Naruto was dumbfounded, much like his father, but his surprise instantly switched to sheer thrill. He jumped up from the ground where everyone was sitting. He took his own spot in front of Sasuke, hands neatly folded in his large black sleeve, showing off his Uzumaki heritage.

''Alright, please pay your respect before you begin,'' Iruka instructed. While the two did so, Minato moved beside Risa.

''Naruto's the strongest fighter in his year?'' Minato asked, incredulous. His son's report card had some impressive grades, but there was plenty of room for improvement in some of the subjects. The training in the forest had attested to that.

''Well...'' Risa started with a kind of awkward smile that said that, indeed, Naruto wasn't quite exactly the rookie of the year. ''He could use some refinement in his technique and he's not the best tactician at first glance...'' Risa turned her gaze from the rink to look at Minato directly. ''But really, Minato-san, your kid never fails to blow my mind during spars. Have you even seen him fight? He's got the craziest, yet smartest ideas that he just seems to pull right out of his ass-I mean, hat! Oops. Pardon my language.'' Minato burst out in laughter. That certainly sounded like his Naruto. Of course, Minato regularly trained with his son, but he had never seen him fight a kid of his age and ability level. ''He's by _far_ the strongest in fuinjutsu in his whole year. Possibly even more than grade 3 and 4 students. I'm really curious to see how his seal mastery will fair against Konoha's infamous Uchiha prodigies.'' Minato could only agree. He looked forward to this match as well.

''Let's have a good fight!'' Naruto said to his opponent cheerfully, a wide smile plastered on his face.

''Yeah.'' The Uchiha nodded with a much more modest, yet still honest smile of his own. Sasuke was happy he was facing an Uzumaki. He had heard about them in Iruka's lesson in preparation for their visit, and even from his father. The blond looked a little goofy in Sasuke's eyes, but if his sensei had called him in, he wouldn't make the mistake of underestimating him.

''Get back in your positions please,'' Iruka told the two young ninjas, who proceeded to go back at the far extremities of the rink.

''Get ready.'' The two boys went into a fighting stance.

''Go!'' The kids broke into cheers of encouragement for their respective village representative.

Naruto sprinted right off his side of the rink and jumped high up in the air. Surprised by such a quick first move, Sasuke prepared himself to counter what looked to be a strong kick. He was even more surprised, however, to see Naruto's feet landing firmly on the ground right in the centre of the rink. As soon as the small feet touched the ground, the blond boy let out a loud battle cry. Chakra ink invaded the rink in five straight branches stretching out to the extremities of the rink. A chakra-infused wall surrounded the rink a fraction of an instant, before disappearing completely. Naruto went back into a fighting stance, a wide cocky grin on his lips.

''What?'' Sasuke breathed out, not understanding what the blond just did. For good measures, the Uchiha threw a shuriken behind him. Nothing happened; the shuriken simply planted itself in a tree not far from the arena.

''We don't have all day, you know,'' Naruto said in a challenging tone.

''That kid,'' Risa said, laughing to herself. ''He's just like his mother. He even has her verbal tick.'' Minato, again, could only nod in agreement.

''Hn.'' The raven snorted then sprinted forward and the two used taijutsu to fight. Sasuke had the upper hand, it seemed. After a few series of punches and kicks, which Naruto had managed to counter by a hair, Sasuke finally grabbed him and threw him away with reasonable ease, helped by Naruto's smaller height and weight.

''Woah!'' Naruto cried out as he was propelled into the air. He made a quick hand sing and, much to the Konoha nins' astonishment, Naruto's feet landed on the chakra-walls that had just reappeared. With impressive ease, Naruto pushed back against the chakra-wall and landed on the rink. The wall disappeared behind him.

''So Sasuke-kun won't be able to push Naruto-kun out of the rink. The Uzumaki's Fuinjutsu really is impressive. And the kid's so young...'' Iruka said, standing right beside Risa and Minato.

''This is just the beginning,'' Risa replied smugly. Minato laughed awkwardly at the teacher's shameless attitude. That caught Iruka's attention. He looked back and forth between the blond child and the older one.

''Is he your son, sir?'' Iruka asked.

''He is!'' Minato grinned broadly; he couldn't help this feeling of pride.

''He's good!''

''Hn. You might have that fancy wall of yours, but you're too slow to beat me,'' Sasuke said as payback for Naruto's earlier comment.

''We'll see about that,'' Naruto replied as he pushed back his sleeves on his arms. He did a simple hand sing. ''Release!'' He cried out. Suddenly, markings on his wrists and shins glowed blue before fading out completely. Naruto went back into his fighting stance, and Sasuke wasted no time to engage him in some taijutsu again.

''He's a lot faster now,'' one konoha girl exclaimed. ''He's as fast as Sasuke-kun! Unbelievable!'' Sasuke didn't look very happy about the new turn of event, but he wasn't about to let that get to him. After more kicks and punches, the two seven-year-olds drew back away from each other to catch their breath.

''Not bad,'' Sasuke said in a mocking tone.

''Same for you.'' Naruto grinned.

''I guess I'll use the new jutsu aniki taught me,'' the raven whispered to himself with determination. He performed a quick series of hand signs and drew in a deep breath. ''Katon: Fireball Jutsu!'' Everyone gasped when they saw the huge fireball flying fast towards Naruto. Minato was ready to intervene at any moment. _It's too big, there's no way Naruto can just dodge it!_ He thought, panicked.

With a determined look in his eyes, Naruto extended his arm towards the great fireball, palm standing straight. He grabbed his wrist with his other hand from which chakra ink flowed freely. A seal formed itself within the palm of his extended hand. _Is he actually gonna...?_ Minato wondered.

Just as Minato thought, the fireball was completely absorbed into his son's palm, not leaving a trace of its existence behind and not leaving a single burn mark on Naruto's skin. Minato let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. Risa did the same beside him.

''Did Hiroto-sama teach him that? Cause I know I didn't,'' she asked, not taking her eyes off the rink. She was quite honestly dumbfounded by what her pupil had just done. Everyone else around her was equally amazed, including the young raven.

''How-?!'' Sasuke didn't get to finish his question as Naruto launched at him with a kick, which he barely avoided. Naruto didn't waste another second; he turned around toward the raven and performed a quick head seal.

''Release!'' Naruto said aloud. He tensed his arms on each side of his body, opened his mouth wide and spit fire out like a dragon. A huge fireball, the same Sasuke had just thrown at him, flew out, aimed right at its original summoner.

Out of options, Sasuke used kawarimi to avoid the attack and appeared a little behind Naruto. It had been such a close call that the tip of his blue sleeve had caught fire. He quickly tapped it to put the fire out, then glared at his opponent. Still panting from the rather complex fuinjutsu he had just performed, Naruto saw that the raven had taken out a kunai from his pocket. Naruto leaped a few steps further away and crossed his index and middle fingers together.

''Kage Bunshin!'' Three more Narutos appeared.

''Kage Bunshin?!'' Iruka repeated with disbelief.

''With our chakra reserves, Kage Bunchin is pretty much the only clone-type jutsu our clan can perform decently.'' Risa explained. Iruka was impressed to say the least.

The four of them ran around Sasuke, taking turns attacking the guy, who either kicked them away or made the clones disappear with his kunai. _Hm, Naruto's buying time._ Minato thought. _He's probably running out of options and he knows the time's almost over._

''Argh, if only I could use the Sharingan!'' Sasuke muttered under his breath as he dispersed yet another clone. ''Katon: Fire Bullets!'' Sasuke spit out a dozen of mini fire balls, effectively putting out Naruto's remaining clones.

''Kage Bunsin!'' Two other clones appeared at proceeded to attack Sasuke. The latter disposed of them; then was surprised by the shuriken that came right at him. Sasuke managed to dodge it, but it was a close call.

''Crap!'' Sasuke swore out loud when the shuriken poofed into the real Naruto high above him. It was a trap! He should have seen it coming; Naruto hadn't used any weapons so far.

''Gotcha!'' Naruto grinned as he finally managed to place a seal on Sasuke's dominant arm. The arm fell limp and dropped the Kunai, though not without Naruto getting a deep cut into his thigh when the raven had turned around at the last minute to retaliate. Minato looked on with stupefaction. He didn't remember Naruto learning that particular seal neither at school nor at the tutoring session. Had he just picked it up from that training three days ago?!

''Ouch,'' Naruto winced sheepishly as he quickly placed a basic first-aid seal on it to stop the bleeding and numb the pain.

The two of them stood a few feet away from each other, panting and exhausted, but neither were about to give up. Getting ready to attack again, they were interrupted by Iruka's booming voice.

''Time's up! It's a tie!'' All the children and adults present clapped their hands, impressed by the level of fighting the two young children had performed.

Naruto blinked then let out a heavy sigh of relief. He wiped a bit of sweat off his forehead, then walked up to his opponent, who was looking at him with an unreadable expression.

''You're really strong.'' Naruto beamed up at him, deactivating the seal he had put on Sasuke so he could use his arm again. Sasuke didn't say anything in reply; in fact he looked rather upset. No one, at least no one his age, had ever made him fight so hard. And considering their respective damages (he might have inflicted an injury on Naruto, but the short blond had taken care of it easily with one of his damn seals again) he didn't think it was actually a real tie. Naruto had had the advantage.

''I hope you enjoyed the fight as much as I did,'' Naruto added good-naturally, hoping to get an answer out of his sparring partner.

''Hn...'' Sasuke looked away for a moment then, despite himself, he let the corner of his lip lift up. He looked at Naruto's clear blue eyes. It was hard to be mad at someone for being good and for being so genuinely friendly on top of that. Plus, now he only wanted to train harder. Maybe he had finally found a proper rival. ''Yeah, I did. I hope we can meet again soon and have a rematch.''

Naruto's eyes were literally sparkling with excitement.

''Yeah!'' The kids got up and gathered around the two young fighters to congratulate them, while Iruka busily brought the improvised rink back into normal ground level.

''The way he uses seals...'' Risa said suddenly, bringing Minato out of his daze. He had been staring at his son without realizing. ''It's like it's nothing to him. He's fast with them... and believe me, it's really a feat considering the kids mastered chakra ink only recently. It's still a long process to convert the Kobun in their mind into the chakra ink and activate the seals for most of them. Naruto, though? He's got talent, that's for sure. This fight only made that even clearer to me.'' Minato couldn't think of anything to say. It wasn't the first time his son had rendered him speechless, but this was an entirely new kind of speechless.

''How about the paralysis seal?'' He said at last. ''Did you teach that in class? I don't think Hiroto-sama reviewed it with him.''

''No,'' Risa said, her expression still serious and focusing on the chatty blond. ''He must have studied it when he had it on himself. It's a simple enough seal, but it's still a wonder he got it so fast.''

''I see,'' Minato breathed out, looking back at Naruto as well. He hadn't even known the full extent of his own son's potential until now. He'd remedy to that once they were home.

OoOoO

''You would have been so proud of him, Kushina! He was amazing!'' Minato exclaimed with a dreamy look in his eyes, distractingly putting on his boots.

''Way to make me feel even more like crap, Namikaze!'' Kushina pouted childishly. Minato always went from Uzumaki back to Namikaze when Kushina was displeased with him. She had just gotten back from her long mission only to find out that Naruto wasn't even at home. He was at her sister's place, spending time with Karin. Minato was currently getting prepared so they could go pick him up together. To make matters even worse, Minato went on about how _awesome_ her precious son had been during the trip. She couldn't believe she had missed that for a stupid mission. Life sucked.

''Let's go, already!'' She said impatiently. ''I want to see my baby. I'd rather hear all those tales from him, you know!'' Minato laughed shamelessly at her wife. That earned him one fiery glare. She opened the door wide and was about to literally storm off, when she caught sight of none other than master Hiroto coming their way. The old man quickened his pace when he saw her.

''Good, you're back!'' He said in a breathless tone. She exchanged a confused look with her husband. Neither had seen their leader this agitated in a long time. They silently gestured for him to get inside.

''I'm sorry to intrude like this,'' the man said, letting out a soft sigh.

''Not at all,'' Kushina said calmly, now very much sobered up. ''Is something the matter?'' Hiroto adverted his eyes for a second.

''Is Naruto around?'' He asked carefully.

''No, he's with his aunt,'' Minato supplied.

''Good. I don't want him to hear what I'm about to tell you.''

''Please, sit down,'' Kushina said hurriedly, not bothering to hide her nervousness. All three of them went into the room right beside the entry hall, where they sat on large cushions around a low table. Neither Minato nor Kushina offered tea; the situation didn't seem to call for it. Rather, they just waited for Hiroto to speak. Said man took out two letters from an inner pocket of his yukata and put them on the table.

''I received a letter from Lord Third, and another from your Sensei almost right after,'' Hiroto said, looking at Minato. ''Two weeks ago, the Uchiha clan was almost completely massacred.''

Kushina gasped and clasped her hand over her mouth in horror. Minato was equally shocked.

''Who...? Why?'' Minato couldn't even make out a complete sentence; too many questions bombarding his brain at once.

''The murderer is a member of the family itself. His name is Uchiha Itachi. He is now an S-class missing-nin. He only left one survivor behind; his little brother Uchiha Sasuke.'' Itachi... that had been the guy who had welcomed them along with Kakashi. To think that a man like him had been anywhere near his son and the other children sickened him... _And Uchiha Sasuke?_ Minato's eyes widened. _That's the very kid Naruto fought! I can't believe it..._

''How dreadful... how could this happen?'' Kushina shook her head in disbelief. This wasn't war... she hadn't heard of any internal conflicts happening in Konoha either... so why?

''There is more, I'm afraid,'' Hiroto continued solemnly, turning his gaze to Kushina. ''Jiraiya managed to follow his trace for a while and gathered some information through his spy network. It seems the Uchiha joined a group called the Akatsuki. Looking at how fast he went from an outstanding Konoha ninja to member of the Akatsuki, he must have been plotting this for a long time.'' The old man took a short break; just sharing the information drained him.

''There have been some rumours about that group travelling around, but what Jiraiya sent Lord Third and I is very disturbing... For reasons still unknown, the Akatsuki is likely planning on gathering the Bijuus.''

Minato and Kushina exchanged yet another bewildered look. The blond took his wife's hand in his.

''For this reason, we ought to find more information about them... and also to be very careful. I will keep you updated. I haven't even communicated all this to the committee yet, but I couldn't wait until then to tell you, Kushina, since you're now directly involved in the affair.''

''This is terrible,'' was all Kushina could say. Minato too, was at loss of words.

''Lord Third trusted me with this information and I am thankful, but he probably doesn't want the other villages to know, as not to look weak or unstable. Secrets never last long in ninja villages... but this is now S-classed. We will need to gather more information about the members and their strengths to find a way to fight them off, if they dare to come here to get the Kyuubi.''

Kushina hadn't seen that look in her leader's eyes since the Third War. She exchanged a look with her husband again, then both nodded.

''Understood.''

OoOoO

\- - - Konoha: Present day - - -

Kakashi knew the mission in the land of Water had affected his team deeply. But perhaps, out of his three students, he had underestimated the impact the mission had on Sakura the most. Since the boys were the ones who had suffered the most physically, he had overlooked the young girl's feelings. Now, several days after, it was clear to him that he needed to address the issue.

If at all possible, the mission seemed to have brought Naruto and Sasuke even closer together. They grew immensely, both in strength and in mind, from the mission. Kakashi also found some reassurance in the fact that his team now knew the truth about Naruto's condition, as well as the dangers of missions. They had clearly showed they would stick together to the end and would do anything to protect each other. The newfound energy and determination to train, as if it hadn't already been amazing within the two young boys, was now at its peak. Sakura's, however, seemed to be deflating day by day.

After a long but productive day of training and D-ranked missions, the team settled a time and place to meet the next day and separated.

Well, almost all separated. Kakashi decided to follow Sakura's moping figure for a bit. The fact that she hadn't asked Sasuke out since returning from Wave was another big indicator that something was wrong. It was time for Kakashi to find out what was going in that little pink head.

Sakura walked slowly around the busy streets of Konoha. She didn't want to go home yet; she had some thinking to do and she knew she wouldn't be left alone if she went home. For all the love she had for her parents, they simply wouldn't understand if she tried talking to them.

Without her knowing, her feet brought her to the Academy grounds, where it all began. She smiled a nostalgic little smile. Everything had been so simple and easy back then. Her smile faltered and she let herself fall onto a wooden bench near some trees in the backyard. The students had long since left. It was empty and quiet. Perfect for some introspection.

She untied her forehead protector and held it loosely into her hands. She looked down at it, feeling tears starting to gather up in her eyes. She tried very hard not to let them fall, but failed miserably. Since it was too late now, she let her tears fall freely. Might as well get it over with.

She wiped the last ones dry with the back of her hand. She had made her decision.

''That's it. I quit.''

A soft breeze blew, as if comforting her... and with it came her sensei, apparently. She blinked. Where had he come from?

''Quit? I don't think so, Sakura.'' Kakashi eye-smiled. ''Of course, I won't stop you if this is truly what you wish, but I think we should talk this over before you do something you might regret.'' Sakura tightened her hold onto her forehead protector angrily.

''What reason do I have _not_ to quit?'' Kakashi mocked an expression of deep thought. She pouted.

''Well, it would make me and the other boys really sad, for one.''

''Tch,'' Sakura snorted bitterly, then felt herself weaken again. She refused to let more tears fall; not in front of her sensei. The little dignity she had left, she would certainly fight to keep it. ''You guys don't need me.''

''Hm...'' Kakashi narrowed her eyes. ''Is this what this is about? You feel like you have nothing to contribute to the team?''

''I don't just think it,'' Sakura muttered, ''it's a fact. I'm useless. I just stand there and let you guys to all the work, including protecting me. I'm ashamed of myself. I did not become a ninja to be a burden to my team.'' Kakashi wanted to tell her it was obviously untrue, that she had a lot to contribute. She was putting too much importance on brute strength; the flashier part of being a ninja. However, he had something even more important to ask first:

''Why did you become a ninja, then?''

The question was like a slap to the face. She stared, wide-eyed, at her sensei, then looked back down at her hitai-ate. Back when she was a child, it was for the same reason as any other naive and dreaming child... she wanted to live great adventures and save the day. Then, when she got a little older, it was because she admired Sasuke and wanted to be worthy of him... But now... Nothing truly mattered anymore. She stood no chance, never had, and if she kept on like this, she would either die or just be left behind. Neither option interested her, so quitting seemed like the most sensible thing to do.

''You know, Sakura,'' The pink haired girl looked up meekly at her sensei. ''Many become shinobis and don't find the answer to that question until several years later. I know because I went through this too. It's okay not to know; you're still very young; it's only normal. Let me ask you this instead: Right now, in this very moment, what do you want?''

Sakura stared again. For a long time, she thought about what she wanted. She wanted many things... some selfish, some were silly dreams not worth her sensei's attention... but right now, in this very moment, there was one thing she really, really wanted.

''I want to be Naruto and Sasuke-kun's equal.'' The rest did not matter, the rest could wait. But this? This, she really wanted. ''They've been through so much. It brought them together and made them strong. How can I possibly reach them?''

''They aren't as strong as they seem and they need you more than you think,'' Kakashi said, smile still on his face. Sakura was staring at him like he had gone mad. ''What they went through actually makes them fragile. But you, Sakura, if you choose to be, can become strong _for_ them and protect them _from themselves_.''

Sakura's eyes widened in realization. She could see where her sensei was going with this. Kakashi's smile, though hidden behind his mask, widened. _Smart girl,_ he thought.

Sakura looked down her hitai-ate again, but this time, she saw something new in it. Her sensei was right; Naruto and Sasuke would probably end up killing themselves with their recklessness and thirst for strength. Sasuke with his revenge and Naruto with his dream of bringing peace to this world; they were intense and overwhelming, and that was partly why she had considered quitting in the first place. They were light years away from her. She had to catch up to them before they got lost forever. She needed to keep them alive. She nodded fervently.

''I need to reverse the roles. I need to protect _them_.'' Kakashi nodded, his expression sobering up a little. All the girl needed was a sense of purpose, a goal. A true goal; not a silly dream of marriage and baby Uchihas. It was still vague at the moment exactly what that was, but she was young and would find her place soon ennough. She was intelligent, had incredible chakra control and immense potential. He mustn't let that go to waste.

The mission in Hot Spring Village had been an eye opener; now she only needed to focus her eyes on her new goal. Sasuke and Naruto were destined for great things, that much Sakura knew, but that probably also meant they would meet their doom younger than they should. She needed to find a way not to let that happen.

''So you're not going to quit?'' Kakashi asked lightly, wanting to hear the answer clearly from her. His student looked up, piercing green eyes looking straight at him.

''No. I need to stop feeling sorry for myself and work hard like Naruto and Sasuke-kun.''

''I'm glad to hear it.'' Kakashi smiled.

OoOoO

''Good morning Naruto, Sasuke-kun!'' Sakura greeted her teammate cheerily. Two pairs of eyes turned towards her. Naruto smiled brightly.

''Morning, Sakura-chan! You look well today. I'm glad you cheered up!'' Sakura blinked at the small blond; apparently, her moodiness hadn't gone unnoticed by his teammates. Well, she smiled to herself, she was glad they were paying attention. She nodded fervently.

''Yeah. I think I finally got over our mission.''

''Man, I know what you mean. That was rough. But we're strong! We'll definitely make it to the top, right Sasuke?'' The bubbly boy exclaimed, punching the air for added effect. Sasuke raised an unimpressed brow at that, but he also couldn't help an amused chuckled either.

''Of course.'' They weren't meant for anything less than that.

''Alright!'' Naruto cheered again. Sakura smiled, suddenly feeling very silly for actually wanting to quit. She had great, strong teammates, a sensei's unconditional support who would protect them with his life and many years ahead to train and become stronger. She had nothing to fear.

''Yo,'' Kakashi said after finally making his appearance. ''I've got some great news for you.''

''Another C-ranked mission?'' Naruto asked expectantly.

''Even better than that,'' Kakashi replied with a smiling eye. Sakura gulped, suddenly feeling a little nervous. Better than a C-rank? She had just found her resolve; there was no need to test it so soon… right?

''I recommended you for the Chuunin Exams.''

 _Fuck my life,_ Sakura thought.


	7. The Meaning of Strength

**Don't Look Back**

 _The Meaning of Strength_

\- - - Wind Country: Leaving Suna after Gaara's new seal - - -

''I don't see a single maple tree,'' Tokuma informed his team. Wind country climate didn't allow for much leaf trees like maple or birch trees to grow. It was a good indicator for travellers.

''Then we probably have another day's journey before we reach Fire borders,'' Shikaku commented, letting out a heavy sigh. He hated travelling for so long. Or doing any sort of physical exercise for that matter. Why did he become a ninja again?

''We should get going then. It would be nice for us to get a nice meal and a warm bed at an inn tonight. The nearest village is Great Lakes, I think,'' Risa commented.

Everyone readily agreed and gathered their things that had been laid out for lunch break. With a smiling eye, Kakashi turned to Naruto who had been petting and playing with Pakkun. While Naruto was blessed with Uzumaki stamina, he had yet to reach the speed to keep up with a squad of talented jounins. Kakashi and Minato had been sharing the duty of carrying the blond on their back.

''Ready, Naru-chan?''

''Yeah!'' Naruto exclaimed, taking his spot and wrapped his arms around Kakashi's neck.

It took a full five hours to reach the small village of Great Lakes. The village was used to receive travelling ninjas, as it was exactly half way between Konoha and Suna, and also North of Tani and South of Ame. Though fairly small, it was a relatively rich village as it profited from the business of the neighbouring, more powerful villages. On top of that, the place was blessed with breathtaking landscapes, as it was right at the bottom of high mountains and surrounded by three large lakes. It was a favoured destination among tourists of the Fire nation. It was also known for its welcoming and kind people. Though truth to be told, the little squad had not expected a warm welcome such as this.

''Thank God, Konoha ninjas! Oh and from Uzushio as well? That's great! Welcome, welcome! The mayor will be so glad to see you.'' The man at the main entrance seemed so thrilled to see them, it was just plain suspicious.

''The mayor? Really?'' Kakashi muttered to himself and Naruto quietly.

''Is something wrong?'' Naruto asked in a whisper, as it seemed to be required.

''We'll see…''

Shikaku, who was the leader of the squad, thanked the man dismissively and informed him they would just be spending the night.

''Oh, it'll be quick then? Well, good to hear. Good ahead, everything's in order,'' the man said after their passports had been checked. The group shared a questioning glance and entered the village. As they walked along the main street, they were surprised to see that most of the shops were already closed. It wasn't even six yet; very odd, for such a touristic town. At last they found a small restaurant which was still open and was renting rooms on the second floor. Once seated with a warm meal, an old, well-dressed man entered the restaurant and walked hurriedly towards them.

''Excuse me for disrupting your meal, but I'd like to speak with you about something important. I'm Shinobu Tenma, mayor of this town.'' The ninja squad exchanged another intrigued look, and then looked meaningfully at Shikaku. The latter sighed. Being the leader was such a drag.

''How can we help you?''

''There is a gang that keeps terrorizing our town every now and then. They rob our shops and scare away the tourists. They call themselves the Akatsuki.'' That piece of information did not fail to surprise the group, especially Naruto who gasped loudly, making noodles fall from his mouth. However, the adults, while surprised, did not seem particularly worried. Naruto wondered why.

''Nobody witnessed any jutsu being used,'' continued the mayor ''but our police force have been easily dismissed by them. Fortunately, nobody passed from these attacks, but we've had some injured, and I don't think I need to tell you how bad this is for our economy.''

''I understand,'' Shikaku nodded. ''However, I highly doubt we're talking about the real Alatsuki here. They're probably just a bunch of criminals using the Akatsuki's reputation to their advantage.''

''Eh, really?! So they're fake?'' Naruto exclaimed. ''I guess that makes more sense,'' he muttered to himself soon after, earning an amused smile from his father.

''Have you submitted a formal mission request to Konoha or Uzushio?'' Shikaku asked the mayor.

''N-no... I didn't, but... I thought, since you're here...'' The man trailed off nervously.

''Then I'm afraid we can't do anything, sir.''

''What?!'' Naruto cried out in indignation. ''We can't just let those bad guys-'' Naruto was cut by his father's hand covering his mouth to hush him.

''Naruto, please, calm down and let us settle this,'' Minato whispered firmly to his son, though he sympathized with the little blond's concerns.

''Is there really nothing that can be arranged?'' The mayor insisted, sounding more than a little desperate.

''You have to understand, sir,'' Tokuma interjected, ''that mission management is a very sensitive matter. If Konoha takes on unofficial missions like this one, other villages can accuse us of stealing business or of trying to gain favours. Especially in your case, no life seems to be threatened. If any of us decide to help you without direct orders, we could be severely sanctioned by our Kage.''

The Konoha and Uzushio ninjas truly felt sorry for the man and said so, before the mayor left with dejection in his eyes. It was a sad sight to see. Naruto made it clear he thought so at least, he barely ate half his meal.

''I know how unyouthful it must seem to you, my young friend,'' Gai said with a comforting hand on his shoulder. ''And I can't help but agree. For sure, when I was your age, I would have reacted the same as you. It shows how righteous you are. But the sad reality is, missions is only half of what Shinobi villages are about.''

''What's the other half about?'' Naruto asked with mixed curiosity and surprise. Being a ninja wasn't just about beating up bad guys and spying and stuff?

''Politics,'' Kakashi filled in, long since finished with his meal.

''I'm not sure what politics is, but I know I don't like it,'' Naruto said with a pout. The statement did not fail to amuse the adults around him.

''It's funny you say that, Naru-chan, 'cause I'm pretty sure you'd be good at it, you know!'' Kushina said enthusiastically.

''Really?'' Risa deadpanned, looking at Kushina like she was mental. Looking at all the havoc Naruto could raise at school, Risa, for her part, rather thought Naruto would end up causing the Fourth Shinobi War.

''Really!'' Kushina replied with as much eagerness. ''He makes friends with everyone and is such a smooth talker. He'd be a great diplomat.'' Kushina nodded to herself, lost in daydreams of an older Naruto, as good-looking as herself and dressed in traditional Uzushio wear, resolving conflicts around the world. Naruto looked oddly at her mom, who definitely had sparkles in her eyes.

''But mom, I don't want to be a diplo-whatever, I want to be a ninja and help people like in this town!'' He protested fierily. Minato chuckled and ruffled his son's hair affectionately.

''You will be, little guy, and a great one. It's just, it's always better to try and solve conflicts without the use of a kunai first. Just like you did with your new friend Gaara.''

''I understand...'' Naruto nodded mournfully.

Though just because he understood didn't mean he was going to stand there and do nothing! Naruto was determined. If the adults didn't want to get rid of the bad guys, he'd just have to do it himself.

OoOoO

It was around midnight when Naruto decided to put his plan into action. He slowly sat up in his bed, discretely looking around to confirm that his parents and Kakashi, whom he was sharing a bed with, were fast asleep. He could hear their soft snoring and see the even rise and fall of their stomachs, so all was good. He had done it before in Suna, so he could do it again, right? No prob!

He discretely climbed out of the double bed and tip toed over to one of his parents' bags where he knew they stored their equipment. Without a noise, he took out a kunai pouch and a trapping scroll. He'd capture those Akatsuki wannabes, believe it! Fighting the urge to snicker to himself, Naruto walked towards the door.

''And where do you think you're going, young man?'' Naruto stopped dead in his tracks, meeting face to face with his two very upset-looking parents. The room was now lit up. Kakashi, for his part, looked amused, standing beside them.

Naruto gulped nervously. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly and tried to find a logical excuse.

''Um... I couldn't sleep... so I thought I would... uh... train! Yeah! Practice throwing kunai and stuff, you know?'' Kushina and Minato raised a sceptical brow in synch. It was always more terrifying when they were in synch.

''In a frog-printed pajamas?'' Kushina asked inspecting his attire up and down.

''Eh?'' Naruto blinked then looked down at himself. He had completely forgotten to change!

''Pfff...'' Naruto glared at Kakashi who was trying to muffle his laughter with his hand.

''Hey! That pajamas's great, okay? Look, the frogs are frowning and holding shurikens. They're totally legit for training!'' It was true. He loved his pajamas. His godfather had given it to him as an end-of-school-year present.

''Naruto, don't lie to us. What were you really planning to do?'' Kushina asked sternly. Not that she didn't know the answer already. She still wanted Naruto to admit the truth. Naruto looked down in shame. He hadn't wanted to lie, but adults seemed to have a different way to look at things sometimes. He looked up at his parents again, now looking more determined.

''I was planning to capture the guys who are bothering the people here. Someone's gotta do something!'' His parents shared a look, then Kushina sighed.

''Alright, alright. I understand. How about he goes with you guys?'' Kushina asked her husband and Kakashi. Both men's eyes widened in surprise.

''Are you sure about this?'' Kakashi asked the redhead. ''It seems reckless and not to say more than a little dangerous.'' With what had happened in Suna, it surprised Kakashi that Kushina would be so lenient and daring. Well, she had always been the adventurous woman, even as a child, from what his sensei had told him. Perhaps that's why she was letting Naruto come along. It gave Kakashi a better perspective on why Minato tended to have overprotective tendencies. It balanced out Kushina's recklessness.

''Eh?'' Naruto blinked in confusion. What where they going on about?

''Kushina, you can't be serious,'' Minato protested. Kushina rolled her eyes. ''It's already bold of us to go after this fake Akatsuki without direct orders. No need to drag Naruto into this on top of it.'' Naruto blinked, then let a huge smile lit up his face. He should have known his parents would never let those innocent villagers get bullied by some fake losers!

''Come on, guys, loosen up! This isn't the Akatsuki we're talking about, just a bunch of lousy ninjas. That is, if they even are ninjas. The mayor said they don't even use jutsus. So I say our little boy can totally help with this, and with you around, I know nothing's gonna happen.'' Kushina ended her spiel with a triumphant smile and a thumbs up to her son, whom promptly returned it.

''Best mom ever! Now let's go!'' Naruto exclaimed as he began marching towards the door again, only to be stopped by the redhead.

''Why don't you go change first, eh sweetie?'' Naruto laughed sheepishly and did so.

When the trio exited the hotel, they were greeted by an energetic (as always) Gai in the middle of a stream of push-ups.

''104, 105, 106... oh! You have arrived, my friends! Are you ready to cleanse this beautiful village of its evil miscreants?''

''You bet!'' Naruto responded with a punch in the air. Minato and Kakashi fought the urge to facepalm. Those two idiots were going to wake up the entire neighbourhood.

''I see our most youthful companion decided to aid us in our quest! Your strong desire to help those in need is admirable!''

''You may want to bring down your voice, Gai, unless you want to get your butt kicked by a grumpy old lady,'' Kakashi said idly. He desperately wanted to take out his precious book right now, but with Naruto around (or rather, with Minato around) he knew he couldn't. He sighed heavily. This was going to be a long night.

''Oh right.'' Gai laughed good-naturally. ''I'm always pumped up when it is time for action.'' He winked at Naruto, teeth shining. ''Right, pal?'' The little blond nodded with a smirk.

''Alright, before we set out, I need to get a few things clear with you, Naruto.'' Minato looked seriously at his son, who straightened up at the sight. He was set on doing this right. It was like his first mission! He didn't want to fail; he'd make his dad proud for sure.

''First,'' Minato said, ''you must obey my orders. I'm the leader for this little 'mission' so if you want to act like a real shinobi, you better stick to the plan.'' Naruto blinked, then smirked cheekily.

''What happened to that those who follow orders are trash thing?'' Kakashi wanted to burst out in laughter, but kept his dignity intact by muffling out a chuckle. Minato looked positively annoyed.

''It's not-... argh, I should never have told you about that. I knew you would use it against me,'' Minato muttered. He sighed then knelt down in front of his son. ''It's those who don't follow the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum. It doesn't mean you are allowed not to follow orders. It just means there are special circumstances where the right thing to do, in order to keep your companions safe, is to take a different... route then the set one. You follow me?''

''Such a touching statement,'' Gai said wiping manly tears dramatically. God, Kakashi wanted to escape in his book. He should never have agreed to come along.

''Yeah, sorry dad.'' Naruto smiled a little bashfully. ''I was just messing with you. I'll be good, I promise.''

''It's for your own good, Naruto. You have to follow my instructions and stay close to at least one of us. Don't act on your own initiative. You're too young for that yet. The last thing is, you must _not_ mention we're affiliated to a ninja village, okay? We're doing this the old fashioned way. It's important if we don't want to cause some kind of political quarrel.''

''Is that why we're all in black and why you're not wearing your forehead protectors?'' He asked looking at all three jounins.''

''That's right,'' Minato nodded. ''Are you ready?''

''Yes.'' Minato smiled at the determined expression on his son's face.

OoOoO

It took some time, but the little quartet managed to track the criminals' trace and found an abandoned building in the outskirts of the village. Using their sharpened stealth skills, they infiltrated the place and followed the sounds of what could only be a loud, drunken bunch of men.

The building, Minato assumed looking at the layout and interior, was an old fabric factory. The stone walls were thick and there barely were any windows. The chakra signatures were so low, it confirmed Kushina's assumptions of them not even being ninjas. Because of that, it was impossible to tell how many there were. Looking around the room, Minato found an air circulating system, of which there was a small entrance high up the wall. He crouched down beside his son and whispered softly.

''Alright son, looks like you're going to act first after all.'' Naruto smiled widely but did not say a word, as instructed. ''I'm going to lift you up to there,'' he said, pointing up at the ventilation entrance. ''I want you to look at how many men there are, then come back to tell us. Nothing more, you got it?'' Naruto nodded fervently.

What he saw beneath the metal grid was quite a pathetic sight. There were six tall men, four of them drinking heavily around a fire lit up in some sort of steel barrel. The two others seemed busy sharpening and cleaning weapons. Naruto could also see mountains of stolen goods pilled up in different corners of the room. This looked like it was going to be easy, especially with four of them being inhibited. What Naruto's innocent mind didn't realize, however, was that alcohol could make people very violent and alter their judgement. Just because they hadn't killed during their raids didn't mean they weren't above doing so, even if the target was a child. He made sure to memorize the layout of the room, the position of each man as well as the inventory of their weapons and reproduced it on a scroll once he went back to the others.

Minato ruffled his little boy's hair, smiling proudly. Naruto blushed happily from the silent praise, glad to see his efforts and detailed information were appreciated by the team.

''Alright, here's the plan: Kakashi will take care of the two armed men. Maito-san and I will intercept those around the fire. While we fight them off, I want you, Naruto, to stay behind me and prepare your scrolls for capturing seals, the ones they taught you in the academy,'' Minato whispered to his team and added some details for what-ifs situations, like more men suddenly showing up and other such scenarios. ''I don't want you to take on any of them unless I allow you to,'' he instructed his son with the most gentle, yet commanding voice he could summon. Not that he didn't think Naruto was capable of taking on at least one of these guys; his son was a talented little ninja, there was no doubt about it. However, he didn't find it was necessary to expose him to more danger. Naruto pursed his lips together, a little disappointed, but nodded nonetheless.

On Minato's signal, the team barged into the room and went straight into action, completely catching the men off guard.

Naruto didn't waste time either. He took out six scrolls and opened them in front of him. While the adult nins fought off the bandits, Naruto inscribed the characters swiftly with practised ease and speed. Once he saw the bandits were weakening or knocked out, Naruto performed a quick series of hand signs then clapped his hands loudly together.

''Sealing Art: Steel Binds!'' The scrolls flew out on their own at an impressive speed and rolled themselves around the six bandits. The rascals barely had time to realize what was going on and before they could even scream out in terror, their arms, legs and mouth were covered in paper. The thin, fragile material then promptly turned into steel, rendering them completely harmless and immobile.

''We did it!'' Naruto smiled triumphantly and cheered at a well-accomplished deed. The three leaf ninjas smiled back at him in approval then proceeded to gather the bandits together to discretely dump them in front of the village's police station.

However, while Minato, Kakashi and Gai were distracted picking up the men, Naruto suddenly noticed a seventh criminal silently creeping out of his hiding place. Naruto's eyes widened. He hadn't seen that one; the man had been hiding behind curtains, probably sleeping in the isolated corner. Only listening to his instincts, Naruto set off after the guy who, by now, had already managed to leave the room.

''Stop there, you bastard!'' Naruto screamed, taking bolas out of his pouch and swinging it around in the air. The racket made Minato look around and gasped when he saw his son running after another criminal. Minato cursed under his breath and used his Hirashin seal he had put on Naruto to teleport directly to him. Naruto had thrown the bolas, which tied the man's legs together and made him fall. As he fell, the criminal took out a kunai and threw it towards Naruto. Minato appeared in front of him just as he was preparing to dodge it. The taller blond caught the weapon in midair and threw it right back at the outlaw, effectively injuring his dominating arm.

''Hey, I was gonna dodge that!'' Naruto protested heatedly. ''His aim was totally shitty and-'' Naruto stopped dead in the middle in his sentence when he saw the expression on Minato's face. His eyes widened in both fear and surprise. He had never seen his dad look so furious. In fact, he couldn't even remember a time when his father had truly been angry with him at all. His father never got upset with him ever.

''What were you thinking, Naruto?!'' Minato snapped at his son.

''Dad, I-'' Naruto's trembling voice was cut short by Minato again, who didn't let him finish.

''I told you not to fight any of them!'' Minato lowered himself to his son's level and grabbed the boy's shoulders tightly. ''You could have gotten seriously hurt!'' Minato shuddered to think of what might have had happened had this man been any more skilled with his weapon.

''But I was okay, I swear! I'm strong enough to defend myself.''

''Strength isn't just about brute force, Naruto! It's also strategy, patience, trust...''

''I-I'm sorry...'' Naruto said, his voice still shaking. He knew, deep down, that his dad was just overreacting, that he was just worried for his safety, but he was still quite shaken.

''Sorry isn't enough,'' Minato muttered angrily. Gai and Kakashi had joined them and were looking on the scene quietly. Gai looked slightly uncomfortable while Kakashi was simply looking rather surprised with his sensei's reaction. ''Naruto,'' Minato sighed heavily, regaining a more neutral tone of voice. ''You're my son. I will love you and support you unconditionally, but if you were my teammate in a squad, I wouldn't be able to trust you,'' he stated calmly.

Naruto's eyes went wide with stupefaction, not believing what he had just heard. Then, when the words had truly sunk in, his lips began to tremble and his bright blue eyes filled with water. He had never felt so deeply hurt before. Minato saw this and instantly regretted his words. He should have put it more carefully. He cursed himself for letting his emotions speak for him.

''Naruto-'' Minato started, trying to right the wrong, but Naruto would have none of it. He struggled out of his father's loosened grip and stormed out of the building.

''Naruto!'' Minato cried out, alarmed. He was about to go after him, only to be stopped by his student.

''Let's just follow him from a distance,'' Kakashi suggested calmly. ''It will allow him to cool down.'' Minato stared for a second, debating the idea, then finally agreed.

''You're right. Let's grab those guys and go.'' They each grabbed two, except Gai who grabbed a third, then left the building.

OoOoO

Outside their room, tapping the ground with her feet impatiently, was a very angry-looking Kushina waiting for him. Minato gulped loudly and suddenly felt three feet shorter. Kakashi made himself look invisible, waiting for the perfect opportunity to slip into the room unnoticed. He pitied his sensei.

''My baby literally sobbed himself to sleep and wouldn't say a word to me,'' Kushina growled darkly, cracking her knuckles. She was ready to give her husband the beating of his life. Minato teared up comically and held out his hands in defence.

''I'm sorry! I'm sorry!'' Minato cried out in panic.

''Let's talk about this outside.'' Kushina pinched her husband's ear and dragged him out to the hotel's balcony.

''Alright, what did you do,'' she asked, crossing her arms together. Minato proceeded to retell the events of the mission.

''So I told him I wouldn't be able to trust him as a teammate...'' He repeated the last part looking down in utter shame. He knew how much Naruto looked up to him and how much he wanted to make him proud. There probably wasn't anything worse he could have said then. He buried his face in his hands, completely crestfallen.

Kushina blinked. And blinked again.

''That's it?'' She said incredulously, letting her arms fall harmlessly. ''For real?''

It was Minato's turn to blink.

''Yeah... That's it. Then he stormed off in tears...'' Was all Minato could bring himself to say. Kushina facepalmed.

''Man, that kid is more sensitive than I thought. He's an even bigger wimp than you are!'' She cried out in consternation. Her boys were such sissies!

''But! But! I was so mean to him!'' Minato protested dramatically.

''You're an idiot, that's what you are.'' Kushina laughed despite herself. ''Come on, Minato. This shows how you're just too soft with Naruto. He would never have reacted like that if I had been the one to tell him that. He's so used to seeing you all calm and loving all the time. You never scold or discipline him. At least not firmly. He was just shocked, that's all. And more so than necessary, believe me.''

''... really?'' Minato said, eyes hopeful.

''Yes, really. I'm glad you finally snapped at him, you know? Was about damn time, too! And Naruto deserved it. He disobeyed you and needs to learn that on real missions, unnecessary risks must be avoided. This isn't an academy drill, it's the real deal,'' Kushina explained and Minato could only find truth in her words. He felt his shoulders suddenly feel considerably lighter. ''I'm surprised you snapped, though. It doesn't sound like Naruto was in danger. He's a good fighter, after all, and those guys were civilians.'' Minato looked down in shame again. It was true. He knew Naruto would have dodged that kunai.

''I know. I acted without thinking.'' He sighed heavily then looked out to the quiet town. ''It's just... since the Akatsuki attacked in Sand, I've been feeling on the edge. It's like I've only just realized that Naruto might be in danger outside the village. Absurd, right? I know he's training to be a ninja, and I still hadn't truly realized it. I just couldn't help myself.''

Kushina stayed quiet at that. She closed her eyes pensively. She, too, had done a lot of thinking since those events. She had drawn her own conclusions.

''You know, Minato, about what you said...'' Kushina trailed off, gazing out to the sky. Minato turned to her and waited patiently for her to continue. ''About Naruto being safest when he's with us. I'm not sure it's the best way to go at it. Because the truth is, we won't always be there. Naruto will graduate in five years and we won't be there to protect him when he goes out on missions. I don't want my son to be shielded now, only to be unable to respond properly when the time comes for him to face danger.'' She looked back right into her husband's eyes, dark, beautiful sapphires looking sharp and determined. ''I want to push him and make him strong. And even though my heart tells me to never let go of him, I know it's what we must do, you know?''

Minato listened quietly, letting the words sink in. He smiled, gazing at her softly.

''You're right, love.'' He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. ''Mothers know best, don't they?'' He winked.

''Of course!'' Kushina burst out energetically.

''I guess I'm not quite ready for that yet,'' Minato admitted sheepishly. ''But I'll do my best.''

''I know you will.'' Kushina kissed her husband's cheek. She stretched her arms and yawned loudly. ''Well, I'm glad I got to lecture you about good parenting, for once.'' She winked teasingly.

The next morning, Minato picked up his son in his arms, waking the sleeping blond up with a warm embrace. Naruto silently returned it, squeezing his arms around his father's neck and burying his face there.

No words were needed. It was always so simple to make up with Naruto, Minato thought fondly.

Behind them, Kushina gushed in delight.

OoOoO

Jiraiya was already waiting in the Hokage's office when they arrived. Both his and the Kage's expressions were sober, which meant capital information would be shared. Looking down at his son, Minato thought about sending him out with Kakashi. However, remembering the conversation he had with his wife, thought against it.

''Why don't you go explore the village on your own while we speak with the Hokage? I'll come to get you when we're done, alright?''

''Alright!'' Naruto smiled brightly and stormed off, waving to everyone goodbye.

The little blond jumped from one rooftop to the other, then stopped to have a better look around.

''Where should I go first?'' Naurto asked himself excitedly. Maybe he could meet up with some guys his age and spar? Or go have a bowl of ramen with his pocket money? He still remembered the fabulous taste of that Ichiraku ramen stand from his school trip.

Suddenly, something caught his eye. He looked towards the source of the light, which seemed to come from the lake north of the Hokage Tower. Curious, he resumed his jumps and approached the area. As he did, he slowly made out the layout of the lake. There was another bright light; a giant fireball coming from the end of a long quay. He jumped down and sprinted towards it. He stopped when he reached the shore. At the end of the quay was a boy his age, with black hair and a black and white outfit... and at the back of the dark shirt was an unmistakable symbol.

 _It's him!_ Naruto thought excitedly. _It's that guy I sparred with during the school trip!_ He smiled widely and was about to call out to him, only to stop himself as he recalled a particularly gloomy piece of information. His entire clan had recently been wiped out. Naruto considered leaving the boy on his own for a moment, but quickly changed his mind. If there was one thing this guy needed, it was a new friend! Now what was his name again? ... ah, right!

''Hey, Sasuke-kun!'' Naruto called out cheerily, waving his warms around to get the boy's attention.

Sasuke closed his eyes when he heard the bright voice call his name. He sighed in annoyance. Apparently, another fangirl was pestering him. Probably trying to 'comfort' him again.

''Go away,'' he barked back sharply without even looking at his caller.

Naruto blinked, though not particularly surprised by the reaction. Sasuke seemed like the loner type of guy. Well, Naurto wasn't about to get discouraged. He smirked.

''What, you're gonna chicken out of our rematch?'' Sasuke blinked in confusion then turned to face his interlocutor. Unable to make out the face from the distance, he walked down the quay towards the blond child. What he saw wasn't a girl, but a boy alright. A bright blue eyed, blond boy with a cheerful smile. He recognized that face, especially with its oddly contrasting whiskers marks on soft round cheeks.

''Uzumaki,'' Sasuke stated simply, his expression staying blank despite his mild surprise.

''Glad to see you remember me.'' Naruto smiled good-naturally. Sasuke stared at the blond. It had been months since someone had smiled at him like that. Everyone else was so awkward around him. It was a refreshing change, he had to admit, but that didn't mean he'd act all friendly. The Uzushio kid, Sasuke figured, didn't even know about the massacre. He clenched his fists tightly at his sides.

Naruto however, on the inside, was sad to see how broken and resentful those dark eyes looked. He wouldn't back down, though, believe it.

''I do.'' Sasuke sharpened his eyes severely at the boy. For the last few months since his brother's disgrace, Sasuke had thrown himself into restless training. This was the perfect opportunity to test out his progress with a worthy opponent. ''Let's move to a training ground.'' This time, Sasuke swore to himself, he would win.

Naruto blinked, a little taken aback by his friend's pushiness. He shrugged it off. He didn't really care for small talk either anyways. After all, he was a man of action!

''Lead the way!''

OoOoO

''I am glad to see you all safely returned,'' the Hokage said, rising from his seat to greet the squad. Both the Leaf and Whirlpool nins bowed respectfully. ''Let's move to the conference room. We'll be more comfortable to talk. The rest of the council is waiting for us there as well.''

The room was large and had a long, oval-shaped table with enough chairs around it to sit twenty people comfortably. Several piles of reports and pictures had been prepared for the meeting. The ninjas took their assigned seat and skimmed through the documents. Most of them were information about the missing nins constituting the Akatsuki, at least the ones that had been discovered by Jiraiya's network so far. Others were the locations of different hideouts Orochimaru had once occupied before abandoning them, as well as some theories on what exactly had been going on there.

''Please proceed, Jiraiya-dono,'' Danzo instructed.

''You've probably come to the same conclusion by now,'' Jiraiya started, his voice straight and low like Minato had rarely heard. For all the goofing around his sensei did, he sure looked imposing when he wanted to. It never failed to inspire deep respect for the man within the blond. ''The Akatsuki works in pairs. My spy network has witnessed those pairs doing some reconnaissance in three different villages some time ago. Namely Suna, Kumo and Kiri, respectively the One-tail, Two-Tails and Three-tails hosts. They probably plan to capture them in order of tails, though it's still too early to assume so and we don't know whether it is due to what they plan to do with the beasts.''

''Do you have any theories on that?'' Gai interjected, curious to know how such power could be tamed and controlled once captured.

''It's obvious they plan to build some kind of ultimate weapon. Since there are missing nins from all villages, it's safe to assume it isn't about some particular grudge against a particular village. It's most likely about world domination, like any other villain around,'' Jiraiya half-joked. ''I'm afraid I really don't have much about the how's and the why's of the group, but at least I managed to gather information about almost all members. If there is a specific pair assigned to each village hosting a Jinchuuriki, then I have all the goonies. I'm still missing the leaders, though.''

''This is very impressive, sensei,'' Minato commented genuinely, looking through the documents. Jiraiya smiled at that.

''Considering the Sharingan, the pair assigned to you, Kushina-chan, is bound to be Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame.'' All took the documents about the two missing nins with particular interest.

''Now, about Orochimaru,'' Jiraiya continued, voiced laced with obvious disgust. ''He used to be paired with Sasori, but as we already know, the one paired up with Sasori now is this guy Deidara,'' he said, motioning at the picture of the blond who had attacked in Suna. ''This change seems to be recent. Perhaps Orochimaru quit in order for to put his energy on his little Sound project. If we look at Mizuki's case, who turned out to be another of Orochimaru's experiments, and the Sound ninja you captured, both had a Cursed Seal on them. Though the Sound nin's seal was far more efficient. No doubt that what's to come will be more and more powerful.''

''You should send Uzushio copies of the seals. We could study them and find a way to destroy them,'' Kushina suggested, earning approving nods from everyone around the table.

''I'll take care of it, Kushina-san,'' the Third said, then gathered his papers together. ''You must be tired. This meeting is adjourned for now. Tomorrow the T&I as well as our Field Tactics team will join us to discuss strategies. Please study the documents for tomorrow.'' He lit up his pipe and took a deep puff. ''Risa-san.''

''Yes, Lord Third?''

''I would like you to write a detailed report of today's and tomorrow's meeting so you can relay the information to Hiroto-dono.''

''Aye.''

Everyone got up to go about there business. Once again, Minato and Kushina were pleased to see Tokuma asking Risa out for dinner. The married couple exchanged a smile, reminded of their own first dates. They held each other's hands and left the building. Time to pick up their son for a well-deserved copious dinner!

OoOoO

''No rink, this time,'' Sasuke stated without preamble once they had reached an unoccupied training ground. ''The first one who forfeits or gets immobilized loses.''

''Sounds good to me.'' Naruto smiled cheekily, getting into a fighting stance.

Both boys stared at each other for a while, assessing the other and waiting for the perfect opportunity. Sasuke was the first one to move; he sprinted towards his smaller opponent and threw four shurikens at once, then took out a kunai. Naruto quickly dodged them, then met Sasuke's attack with a clash of a kunai of his own. Both tried to disarm the other without success so they retreated a few feet back to change their strategy. Naruto performed his signature cross hand sign and summoned a couple of clones to distract Sasuke. While they did, he prepared a sealing scroll, planning on using the same jutsu he had used on those criminals.

Sasuke charged at the clones and dismissed them much faster than Naruto anticipated. Sasuke threw another bunch of shurikens, but his target wasn't Naruto; it was the scroll he had taken out and begun writing on. Naruto jumped away from his now damaged scroll, surprised his plan had been countered so easily. Sasuke had gotten much faster and stronger since their spar a few months back.

Naruto landed on his feet, but was surprised to see that Sasuke was no longer in front of him. His eyes widened in realization and instantly turned around, blocking Sasuke's attack just in time. Just like back during his trip, Naruto found himself deactivating his gravity seals in order to match Sasuke's speed. It unnerved Naruto to see that despite always moving and training with weights, he still hadn't gotten faster than Sasuke. Last time, they had been equally matched, but now, he was barely able to counterattack in time. Sasuke must have done some serious and intense training since their last encounter.

Naruto jumped back away from his raven haired opponent and both stared at each other again. He knew Sasuke would try to stop any of his sealing techniques. He couldn't use any paper-based sealing jutsus, since those required a fairly long distracting time and he hadn't prepared any in advance. Not that it was much of an obstacle; he had plenty of chakra ink-based techniques to choose from.

Suddenly, Sasuke charged again and engaged him in taijutsu. Naruto clenched his teeth together, meeting each strike as best he could. While he had a slight advantage with speed, Sasuke was also unfamiliar with the Uzushio's fighting style, which gave Naruto an advantage of his own as the blond was fluent in both Uzushio and Konoha styles, thanks to his father. Naruto was grateful for it, otherwise he wasn't sure he would have been able to keep up.

Sasuke, for his part, was getting more and more desperate. He was giving all his strength and speed into this fight and that little blond kid could still match him equally. What had those months of training been for, then? He growled as he continued to kick and punch violently. He wondered which jutsu he could use that Naruto would be unable to absorb. Damn that fuinjutsu! _How?!_ Sasuke wondered angrily to himself. _How can he be so strong?! If I can't even beat this little kid, how can I possibly ever avenge my clan!_ His last thought brought Sasuke to a breaking point. He felt a vivid hatred burning within himself as he visualized his brother instead of Naruto in front of him. His attacks suddenly gained speed and strength with the sudden increase in motivation.

Naruto's eyes widened as he noticed the change in Sasuke's eyes. Unable to see it coming, Naruto was kicked hard in the stomach and thrown several feet back, falling limply to the ground. Sasuke didn't let him recuperate and charged again for another attack. Sasuke straddled him and aimed a punch to his face, which Naruto managed to stop by a hair. He kicked Sasuke off him and instantly summoned five more shadow clones. Sasuke used his Fire Dragon technique to dispel them all at once. Fortunately, it had given Naruto enough time to perform his own jutsu. Chakra ink characters formed themselves along his arm and gathered at the palm of his hand, lighting themselves blue.

 _That trick again, huh._ Sasuke thought to himself. He remembered that paralysis technique and he wouldn't be fooled by it twice. He'd let the boy think he would get him, but already knew how he would counter it. He took out his kunai again and charged at the boy.

Just as he thought, Naruto hit him with his jutsu on his dominating arm. Sasuke smirked, now he was close enough that he could perform a fire technique without Naruto being able to absorb it. Having a paralyzed arm didn't matter; he had practised his Fire Ball technique so many times now that he could do it without hand signs.

''Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!'' But to Sasuke's horror, nothing happened. He realized also that his arm wasn't actually paralyzed either. Before he could react, however, Naruto had already pinned him to the ground, a kunai placed at his throat. Sasuke stared, speechless.

''Looks like I win.'' Naruto chuckled before letting go of his friend.

He knelt beside Sasuke, who also sat up from his position. Sasuke stayed like this, unmoving, staring at nothing in particular for a while. Naruto waited patiently beside him, not sure how to break the heavy silence.

He had lost. Sasuke couldn't believe it. All his efforts... all this rage and sweat... for nothing? He clenched his teeth and fists tightly, trembling in sheer anger. Then, Sasuke realized with horror, he could feel his eyes beginning to water. After that terrible night, Sasuke had sworn to himself that he would never cry again. And there they were, small tears falling down his cheeks.

''Damn it... Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!'' Sasuke screamed out, frustrated with himself. Naruto looked down, feeling his heart twist painfully at the sight. He dared not imagine how Sasuke must be feeling at the moment.

Not far from there, carefully hidden in a tree, Minato and Kushina looked on the scene with dismay. As much as they pitied the dark haired boy, perhaps losing this fight would do him good. Both parents couldn't think of anything positive coming out from excessive, hatred-fuelled training.

''The poor boy,'' Kushina said softly. ''There must be something that can be done for him. Isolation can't do any good.''

''I agree,'' Minato replied. ''I'm surprised he hasn't been adopted by another clan yet.'' Kushina turned to him.

''I'm not,'' She admitted. ''I don't think Sasuke would adapt well to a new family and would probably refuse anyway. His case is such a peculiar one.''

''True. It's a shame ninja villages don't have proper support to offer for cases like these. All ninjas with psychological training take a specialization in T&I or Genjutsu, and I don't think a civilian psychologist would be of much help.'' Kushina nodded in agreement.

''But perhaps if he did community service... like helping out at the hospital, or maybe visit the elderly, something like that, you know? He needs to invest time into something positive and where he will interact with people.'' Minato stared, impressed with the idea.

''That's brilliant, Kushina!'' He smiled enthusiastically. ''We should bring it up to the Hokage at tomorrow's meetings. I think it's definitely worth a try.'' Kushina smiled brightly.

''You really think so? Thanks.'' She chuckled, then both of them looked back to the scene. Their eyes widened in surprise at the sight.

Unable to hold himself back anymore, Naruto encircled his friend with his arms. He was prepared for rejection, but was surprised when none came. Sasuke, ironically, felt the same way. He wanted to push the boy away, but found himself unable to. He clung to the white fabric of the blond's short kimono and simply kept sobbing. He had thought that the less he touched people, the less he would crave it. But when he felt Naruto's arms around him, he was instantly reminded of his dear mother. He hadn't felt such comforting warmth since before her death. Soon, his tears stopped and his breath evened. He gently broke the embrace and closed his eyes to regain his senses. He should feel humiliated after his defeat and now being comforted by Naruto, but right now, he just couldn't bring himself to care.

''Thanks,'' he muttered, not looking at the blond.

''No problem.'' Naruto smiled. ''I can't imagine how you must feel, but if my family was killed right in front of my eyes, I would do everything in my power to get stronger too.'' Sasuke looked at Naruto with disbelief. _So he knows?_ Sasuke thought to himself.

''Oh, I almost forgot!'' Naruto exclaimed suddenly. ''Here, let me take the seal off you,'' he said, gesturing towards the seal on Sasuke's right arm.

''I thought it was the same as last time,'' Sasuke admitted. He had made a fatal mistake by assuming so. He had learned his lesson.

''It's similar,'' Naruto explained as he deactivated it. ''Only instead of paralyzing limbs, it paralyzes chakra for a while. Both last about a couple of hours then dissipate on their own.''

''I see.'' _That's why I couldn't summon my Fire Ball technique._ ''And why are you in Konoha?'' The thought had just occurred to him. Naruto smiled.

''I'm on a trip.'' He knew he couldn't disclose details about the missions, so he went for a half-truth. ''My dad is from Konoha, so we come here to visit from time to time.'' Sasuke's brows lifted up slightly in interest at the last piece of information.

Seeing that Sasuke had calmed down and that the boys were now engaged in small talk, Minato and Kushina found it appropriate for them to finally make their appearance. They were greeted by a smiling Naruto and a mildly curious Sasuke. It was very easy for the latter to guess they were the blond's parents; he had his father's colouring but definitely bared his mother's features.

''Hey, mom, dad, this is Sasuke,'' Naruto said while the two boys got up on their feet. Sasuke offered them a simple polite nod.

''Hello Sasuke-kun.'' Kushina smiled. It almost took Sasuke off guard how identical it was to Naruto's own smile. ''I'm Kushina and this is my husband Minato.'' Minato offered a cheerful greeting of his own. ''Would you like to join us and Naru-chan for dinner?''

''No, I have to go... But thanks,'' Sasuke said awkwardly. The Uzumakis weren't surprised by his refusal, even though they knew Sasuke, the poor child, had no obligation to go anywhere. _Well,_ Kushina thought hopefully to herself, _maybe he'll open up with time._ Sasuke nodded politely to them again and began walking out of the training field.

''Hey, wait!'' Naruto cried out. ''Can we meet again tomorrow? We could train together, you know?'' The blond pleaded. Sasuke stared at those hopeful eyes for a moment, assessing how he felt about the idea. He never meant to make any friends. When looking at the other kids at the academy, all he could see were burdens that would slow him down. Naruto, however...

''I'm usually at the training grounds or at the lake,'' he answered vaguely, insinuating that Naruto could come and find him whenever he liked.

''Great!'' Naruto perked up happily. ''See you tomorrow then!''

OoOoO

That evening, Sasuke kept thinking about his and the Uzumaki's spar. All traces of bitterness about his loss had left when the boy had hugged him. A small wave of embarrassment struck him at the thought. For some reason it annoyed him, now that he had time to recover, that Naruto had seen him display such weakness. He had finally found a worthy rival and was determined to show the blond that he was just as worthy.

During the fight, he had lost control of his emotions, something he never thought he would do. He was certain there was nothing left other than hatred in him, but the fight earlier had proved him wrong.

He didn't know how long Naruto was staying -he would have to ask tomorrow- but he knew they would probably fight again before he left. He would win this one for sure; he wouldn't let Naruto down. Until then, he had to admit he looked forward to training with him. He was convinced he would learn valuable tricks from Naruto. He suddenly wished the boy didn't live in Uzushio. If he lived here, in Konoha, they could train together more often and it would help Sasuke reach his goal much faster. The thought surprised him. Before today, he would have never have considered training with someone else.

That night, for the first time in months, he didn't have nightmares about his brother and the massacre nor did he go through the hell that was his brother's Tsukuyomi again. He dreamed of his fight with Naruto and of new strategies to counter his fuinjutsu. He dreamt about his victory and of becoming stronger.

OoOoO

''I wish you lived in Konoha,'' Sasuke blurted out without thinking during their mid-training break. They had been practising their taijutsu skills for the better part of the morning. He was getting more and more used to Naruto's native style and definitely had the upper hand when Naruto switched to the Konoha fighting style. Naruto had also placed on him the same gravity seals the blond was using and had taught him how to adjust, deactivate and reactivate them.

''Eh?'' Naruto blinked, stopping midway through his inscriptions in his scrolls. He wanted to seal a couple of Sasuke's fire techniques into them, as an exchange for the gravity seals. His curious expression melted into a kind smile when he finally understood what his friend meant.

''I'll come and visit from time to time, and you could come to Uzushio too. That'd be so cool!'' He said excitedly. Sasuke simply nodded in agreement.

''How did you get so strong?'' Sasuke asked at last. It had been bugging him for a while. He knew how feared Uzushio's sealing techniques were throughout the ninja world, but he doubted every kid Naruto's age over there was as talented. He already knew Naruto was at least the best of his year since his teacher had chosen him for their fight during the village's school trip.

''Haha.'' Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, blushing from the praise. ''I'm not that good. I do a lot of stupid stuff too during drills which often gets me in trouble,'' he said modestly thinking of all the times he had been told on his impulsiveness. ''I own everything to hard work and, of course, my friends and family. If they weren't there for me, I'd probably be just a deadlast.'' Sasuke looked down to the ground.

''There's nobody here that can help me,'' he said, his expression grave.

''That can't be true.'' Sasuke looked up to Naruto, brows up in surprise at the blond's firm tone. ''There's always something people can teach us, even if they aren't as strong in a fight.'' Naruto could think of so many instances where he had learned from his teachers, his classmates, his friends and his family, even by just observing them. ''You just need to pay attention and be open-minded, you know?'' Sasuke had to be impressed with Naruto's random moments of maturity.

Thinking on it for a moment, he supposed there was this Shikamaru kid in his class who was probably much smarter than his lazy attitude let on. He also had no idea of his capabilities since Shikamaru always forfeited before they even got to face each other during academy spars. He always said fighting with him was 'too troublesome since he would lose anyway'. That Shino guy seemed decent too.

''I guess you're right,'' Sasuke admitted at last.

''Don't you have friends you train with, Sasuke-kun?'' Hearing Naruto calling him that just sounded wrong.

''Just call me Sasuke, dobe. You sound like one of my fagirls.'' Sasuke smirked at Naruto's affronted reaction.

''I just have good manners, okay!'' Naruto protested overdramatically. His mom always insisted on him using appropriate honorifics when addressing people. It wasn't his fault! ''Bastard,'' he added for good measures. There, new honorific.

''And to answer your question, no, I don't have friends.''

''Well, you have me now!'' Naruto quickly regained his merry disposition. Sasuke allowed his lips to curl slightly upward. It was astounding how easily doing so had come back to him.

''Yeah.'' The mood was then broken by the loud, disgraceful sound of Naruto's growling stomach.

''Man, I'm starved!'' Naruto proclaimed, hugging his stomach for emphasis. Sasuke looked up to the sun.

''Must be around noon,'' he informed his friend.

''My parents are in some really important meeting with the Hokage. They'll probably be there all day. Wanna grab some ramen?'' Sasuke shrugged, not really caring about what food to eat.

''Yeah! Ramen, ramen, ramen, hehe,'' Naruto chanted happily as he gathered his scrolls and got up from the ground. Sasuke stared blankly at the boy. Was this the same Naruto who had just lectured him?

OoOoO

''Sakura, look, look!'' A pretty pale blond told her friend/rival.

''What?'' The pink haired girl took her eyes off the dress she had been looking over and let her eyes roam around the market place, trying to find what Ino found so interesting. ''What is it?'' She asked again when nothing caught her attention.

''Over there, forehead! At the ramen stand! Isn't that Sasuke-kun?''

''Eh?!'' Sakura cried out in disbelief. When she looked at the Ichiraku's stand, she indeed saw the object of both girls' (and many others') obsession. ''You're right, Ino-pig, it's him! What is he doing at that sort of place? And who's that kid with him?''

Ino looked over to the blond sitting beside Sasuke. The boy looked slightly younger, maybe a year or two. He had short, messy blond hair -a shade darker than her own- and had bright sky-blue eyes and cute whispers marks on his cheeks. He was wearing what looked like an expensive shot white kimono with a red, swirly symbol broidered at the back. He had dark blue leggings and white bandages around his ankles and dark blue sandals. His long-sleeved kimono was tied with a bright orange obi with white swirly prints on it. The obi also held several scrolls at his back. She didn't recognize the clan symbol, but judging from the quality of his outfit, the kid was definitely from a good family.

''I don't know. I've never seen him at the academy and I've never seen that Clan symbol either.''

''Clan symbol?'' Sakura repeated curiously then looked at the boy's outfit more carefully. ''That's the Uzumaki clan emblem. He's from Uzushiogakure.'' Ino sweat-dropped. Trust the book-nerd Sakura to know that kind of thing.

''It's really weird,'' Sakura continued as she looked the contrasting duo sitting at the ramen stand. ''That kid is chatting up with Sasuke-kun and he isn't rejecting him. In fact, Sasuke-kun almost seems interested!''

''Totally weird,'' Ino agreed. ''Let's walk over there and talk to them. I really want to know how an outsider was able to have lunch with our Sasuke-kun!''

''Right!'' Sakura clenched her fist in determination. _Shannaro!_

Sasuke listened patiently as Naruto talked animatedly about his tutoring sessions in between large mouthfuls of noodles. _Good manners, huh? Yeah right._ Their -or rather, Naruto's- little chat was interrupted by high pitched voices.

''Hello, Sasuke-kun!'' Sakura greeted first, giving Sasuke the most charming smile she could conjure. Ino followed de suite and did the same.

''Who's your friend? Can you introduce us?'' Sasuke pursed his lips tightly in annoyance. Why did those girls have to follow him around all the time? Didn't they get the message the first hundred times he dismissed them?

Naruto looked between his friend and the two pretty girls in curiosity. When he saw Sasuke wasn't about the answer any time soon, he decided to go on and introduce himself.

''I'm Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet you.'' He smiled brightly at the girls. ''Are you two Sasuke-kun's friends?'' He asked politely, though earning an annoyed huff from the raven.

''They're just classmates. And I told you to just call me Sasuke, dobe.''

The two girls stared in utter amazement. This was probably the first time they had heard Sasuke utter a full sentence. Two full sentences, in fact! Was the blond some kind of wizard or something?

''Nice to meet you too, Naruto-kun,'' Ino replied when she recovered from the shock. Sakura returned the polite gesture as well.

''What are you guys doing after lunch?'' Sakura inquired as innocently as she could, though judging from Sasuke's sharp look, the dark haired boy had already seen through her attempt to butt in.

Seeing as Sasuke still wasn't going to answer that, Naruto took the initiative.

''We're going to continue our training. Would you like to join us?'' He asked chirpily. Sakura and Ino shared a bright look. They couldn't believe their luck! They definitely liked this kid. Not only was he cute and friendly, but he was also giving them the opportunity of a lifetime!

''We'd love to!'' Ino cried out, clapping her hands together excitedly.

''Is that okay with you, Sasuke?'' Naruto asked his friend. The Uchiha was about to express his blatant refusal but stopped himself when he saw Naruto's candid eyes and earnest smile. He recalled what the blond had said about being open minded. Sighing heavily in defeat, he decided to give in to his friend's request.

''If it's only for a little while, I guess it's okay.''

''Attaboy!'' Sakura shouted, then caught herself. ''Er, I mean, that's great, thank you Sasuke-kun.'' She tried to cover her slip-up with a bashful smile. Ino snorted.

''Idiot.''

''Shut up, Ino-pig.'' Sakura glared back.

Naruto sweatdropped at the sight.

After the boys finished eating, the small groups of ninjas-to-be walked towards the training ground, engaging in small talk, most of which, of course, was filled by Naruto and the two girls. The girls were genuinely curious about Naruto's reasons for being here and other information about his background. As the boy chatted on, the girls were then finally reminded of that school trip all those months ago.

''Eh? So you're the same age as us? Wow, I would have never guessed.'' Naruto chuckled at Ino's amazement.

''I'm average height for my age back in Uzushio, though.''

''Yeah, people from Uzushio are known for their unusually long lifespan.'' Sakura added as if reciting a book. Which probably was the case, Ino thought. That last part actually caught Sasuke's interest. ''Do you think you could show us some of your fuinjutsu when we get to the training ground?''

''Sure thing!''

When they reached their destination, Naruto took out his scrolls from before lunch and took this opportunity to finish them up.

''Eehh...'' Sakura voiced her wonder. ''So that's what the Kobun looks like. I've always wanted to see it up close.'' Three pairs of disbelieving eyes turned to her. ''What?'' She asked innocently.

''I'm impressed you even know the name.'' Naruto smiled.

''What is the Kobun?'' Ino asked. Sasuke wondered the same.

''It's an ancient, lost language only the people in Uzushio use for their sealing techniques. It's highly complex and takes years to learn. It's part of what makes Uzushio's fuinjutsu such a well-guarded secret.'' All three pairs of eyes blinked again.

''That's exactly right, haha.'' Naruto laughed.

''You seriously need to get a life, Haruno.'' Ino stated bluntly. Sakura huffed crossly at her friend. Sasuke, for his part, was forced to admit that perhaps that pink haired girl wasn't as completely useless as he first thought. He knew from the class ranking that she was at the top in the theoretical subjects, but her knowledge clearly reached outside of academy books. Sasuke, against his better judgement, thought that maybe he'd ask her where she learned all of that later.

''How come you know so much about Uzushio anyway?'' Ino asked with a sceptical brow.

''Well, because it's Konoha's oldest ally, for one,'' she replied. ''And two, it has so many amazing Kunoichis! Like Uzumaki Mito, the greatest seal master in history, or Uzumaki Shagun, the founder of the village. She was the leader of a powerful wandering barbarian tribe before they settled on the island. Oh! and Seiwa Hideko, the inventor of the weapons: the Falcon's Talons!'' Sakura's eyes were literally sparkling with admiration, then turned to look at her blonde friend. ''Oh, and did you know that the legendary Sannin, Lady Tsunade, is actually the grand daughter of Uzumaki Mito? Isn't it amazing?''

Naruto's jaw had literally fallen to the ground listening to Sakura's babble. The girl knew more about his village's history than he did! Then again, he always falls asleep in that class. Oops.

Sasuke, for his part, wished the pink haired girl would actually try to be like those Kunoichi she admired so much, instead of wasting her time fancying him.

Later on, when the kids decided to practice their taijutsu, Sasuke was once again convinced that the girls needed to get their act together if they ever wished to graduate. The girls had almost ripped each other's hair out fighting over whom should start sparring with Sasuke. Naruto, ever the diplomat, suggested to settle it with Jakenpon. Sakura won and took her spot in front of Sasuke while the two other blonds observed. It was taking all of Sasuke's willpower not to just knock the girl out. She was literally squealing every time they remotely brushed each other. This was such a waste of time. To think he could be practising with Naruto right now...

The agony ended soon enough, Sasuke thanked the heavens, after Ino and Naruto's own sparring session. Ino had to help at the flower shop and Sakura had promised to help her mom with the groceries.

Walking together back towards their respective houses, the girls exchanges some delighted giggles and remarks about how cool Sasuke was when he fought.

''It's a shame Naruto-kun's so short and lives so far away,'' Ino confessed. ''Otherwise he would totally be my type. He was so gentle when we sparred and so encouraging too. He's way sweeter than Sasuke, you have to admit. But I guess I'll have to stick with our dark prince.'' Sakura pouted in disapproval.

''No way, he's just too... too breezy. Sasuke's so calm and collected and cool,'' she said dreamily. ''But Naruto's nice, I'll give you that.''

OoOoO

The rest of the afternoon was spent in diverse activities such as target practice and chakra control exercises. Naruto showed Sasuke the tree-climbing exercise which his father had recently introduced to him. Naruto confessed that he relied heavily on his chakra recycling seals and needed to work on his chakra control. Sasuke, having a decently large amount of chakra himself, found that he would also benefit from the exercise. Sasuke, keeping his promise, also performed a few of his fire techniques for Naruto to trap into his scrolls.

''Element-based jutsus are so cool. I can't wait to begin my own training!'' Naruto confessed.

''You haven't started yet?'' Sasuke asked with a certain degree of surprise. Most kids didn't until they were genins, but it was fairly common for heirs of powerful clans, such as Sasuke himself when his father was still alive, to begin early. Since Naruto was obviously talented and from a good clan, he would have thought the blond knew at least a few elemental techniques.

''No. Mom says I still have to concentrate on fuinjutsu before I start on that. I know my affinity, though. It's wind!'' Naruto said proudly, it was the same as his dad. Sasuke nodded. Wind was a good element; it was very versatile. It was also complementary to fire, he mused to himself.

Eventually, when the sun had started to set, Naruto's parents came to pick him up.

''Argh!'' Kushina exclaimed loudly and stretching her arms, still stiff from sitting for so long. ''That meeting was interminable! Sorry to have left you alone for so long, Naru-chan.'' She threw her son a guilty look. Naruto shook his head furiously.

''It's okay, really! Sasuke and I had lots of fun training together. We even met some of his girl friends.'' The last statement earned a glare from his friend, which didn't fail to make Naruto snicker in amusement.

''Is that so? I'm glad to hear it.''

''Oh, and dad, look!'' Naruto turned to the trees behind them and pointed towards the one with scratch marks on the right. ''I managed to get a couple of feet higher, see?'' Minato looked at the tree and was please to see Naruto's progress.

''Well done, kiddo,'' he praised his son, ruffling his hair affectionately.

The sight sent a painful blow to Sasuke's heart, recalling his own relationship with his father. Even when he was still alive, his father had barely ever shown him any sort of approval or affection. No matter what his mother had said, Sasuke still wished he had just shown him how proud he had supposedly been. But it was too late now. He would never experience this feeling.

''Would you like to join us for dinner, Sasuke-kun?'' Minato asked the young raven, already knowing the answer.

''Thank you, but no,'' Sasuke replied. ''Maybe next time,'' he added for the sake of politeness. ''I was wondering how long you were staying here,'' he asked. ''I enjoy training with Naruto.'' He couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed with himself, but managed not to let it show on his face.

Minato and Kushina exchanged a look. Technically, they were ready to leave as soon as tomorrow morning, but looking at the young pair and knowing how much Sasuke could benefit from his friendship with Naruto, they silently agreed they would stay a couple more days.

''We're leaving Monday morning,'' Kushina supplied kindly.

''That means we can spend the next four days together!'' Naruto told his friend with sincere delight. Sasuke felt his lips curl upwards, touched by Naruto's genuine raptures of joy. He didn't think he deserved it with how disinterested he must look all the time, but truly appreciated it. He nodded to his friend and watched silently as he left with his family.

As he did, Sasuke recalled his brother's parting words.

He hated this brother, and the emotion consumed his heart more than any other.

One day, he would kill him in cold blood.

But until then, perhaps he could allow himself to live a little bit of happiness and still grow stronger.

* * *

 **AN:** I have another chapter well under way. A completely new one, DLB readers! Sorry again for taking so long to update. 'till next time!


	8. Revelation

**Note:** I decided not to write about the mission with Zabuza and made up something new. I think that arc has been rewritten enough hahaha, but I still kept some similarities.I used **Raiga Kurosuki** as the villain in this chapter, though the story and character is very different from canon.I basically just used his character design and abilities.

 **Enjoy this completely new chapter!**

* * *

 **Silver Lining**

 _Revelation_

 _\- - - Konoha: Right before the first C-Rank - - -_

''Alright, are you ready?''

Naruto nodded, still breathing heavily from the intense training he had just gone through with his dad. For the past several weeks, Minato had slowly been making Naruto using and controlling the Kyuubi's chakra. He had taken off the Five Pronged Seal a while ago for that purpose. Minato trusted Naruto wouldn't make another mistake like the one in the Hyuuga compound; he had made sure of it.

Father and son soon found out that it was easier to access the Nine Tails' power when Naruto was almost completely drained out of his own chakra. However, since the small blond was an Uzumaki, it was quite a feat to accomplish. Naruto had just been sparing a solid three hours with his dad and had used his most chakra-expensive techniques, let it be shadow clones, advanced sealing or offensive ninjutsu.

When Naruto reached a point where he was almost ready to pass out, both walked slowly back home and entered Minato's improvised dojo. Within the room, several paper and chakra seals had been splattered across the walls to ensure that no malevolent chakra would get out should Naruto lose control.

Both father and son were now sitting on the wooden floor, facing each other.

''Close your eyes and get into your meditation posture,'' Minato instructed gently. Naruto crossed his legs over his lap, joined his hands together and closed his eyes. He took three deep breaths and waited for Minato's instructions, as always.

They had done this near ten times now, and so far Naruto had not managed to use and control Kyuubi's chakra to generate any technique. It was like once Naruto opened the door, the demon would try with all his might to make everything difficult for Naruto and lash out at him. The demon would never get out of course, nor take control over Naruto's body under Minato's watch. However, using the incredible power would prove very difficult, to be sure.

''Concentrate on your chakra core in your stomach. Imagine the Kyuubi's chakra reserve is like a dam. If you open the trap too wide, the flow will be too strong and it will drown you. Open it just a little.''

Naruto's body started to be surrounded with red flame-like chakra. The waves were swirling slowly around him and were slowly getting bigger and more ominous. Naruto clenched his teeth, which were now getting sharper, and began to sweat from the effort he was putting into controlling the 'trap' that was letting the chakra out. He also knew that if his eyes were open, they'd be a bright blood-red colour. The Kyuubi was definitely trying to push his chakra out and he was having a hard time keeping it in. It would be so much easier if he had the fur ball's collaboration on this. Naruto knew that wouldn't happen anytime soon, but he was determined to get there some day.

Minato watched with calculating eyes as the chakra got more and more ostentatious. His son had already lasted longer than their previous session, keeping the chakra flow at an adequate level. He let his mouth curl up slightly in pride.

''Very good. Now let's try to use that chakra to conjure a technique.'' Minato held his chin in thought. ''Nothing too small, since you don't have enough control,'' he mused out loud, ''and nothing too big as the Kyuubi will take advantage of the opening. Let's see... try summoning fifteen shadow clones.''

Naruto nodded and slowly made the hand seal.

Forty clones suddenly appeared behind him -luckily the room was large enough to contain them- and it was way too much. The red chakra flames suddenly got bigger and Naruto opened his eyes in panic, feeling himself losing complete control of the flow.

Minato did not waste any second. He dashed forward and slapped a previously prepared paper seal on his son's forehead. All traces of evil chakra vanished instantly along with the little army of clones. Naruto fell backward, completely passed out. Minato caught him just in time in his caring arms.

The older blond sighed, feeling concerned and guilty as always for making his only son go through this. He stroked his boy's hair gently once then lifted him up.

''You're doing well, son,'' Minato said softly and brought Naruto into his room for him to rest.

OoOoO

''Sakura? What are you doing out here?'' Ino had just finished training with her team for the day. As she leisurely walked towards her family's business, she saw Sakura sitting on a bench on her own, head hung low.

Sakura just shrugged. Ino blinked curiously. She certainly looked less ecstatic than she first did when they found out she had been placed with the two strongest and most good-looking boys of the cohort.

''What's wrong?'' Ino sat down beside her friend, who sighed dramatically in reply.

''At first, I thought being with Naruto and Sasuke-kun would be great but...'' she trailed off, trying to find the proper words to communicate her feelings. ''I just feel like I don't belong with them. They're so advanced and so close to each other. We almost didn't pass our Sensei's test because of that. He was worried we wouldn't work well together since I was left out most of the time.'' She had been tied up to the wooden pillar that day, and apparently the boys sharing their lunch with her was enough to make up for their (hers, more particularly) performance. It did make Sakura feel a little better that the boys seemed to care at least a little about her, but still... ''Sometimes I wish he hadn't passed us. They would be better off without me.''

Ino listened patiently to her childhood friend. She could certainly imagine how it must feel. In terms of skills, she and her other teammates were fairly equal and, much to her amazement, ended up being compatible and worked well together. Plus, their families have worked together for years; the chemistry came naturally to them. If she and Sakura had switched places, she would probably feel like Sakura right now.

''Tomorrow is our first C-rank,'' Sakura continued with another sigh. ''I think the more we go forward, the greater the gap between me and guys will be. Just thinking about it makes me anxious.'' Ino patted her friend's back comfortingly.

''Have some faith in yourself, Forehead! You might not be as strong as the boys now, but you're super smart. Use that brain of yours and I'm sure you'll figure out your place in the team. We've all been with our teams for only a few months. You just need to adjust and learn more about yourself.''

''I guess so,'' Sakura said quietly with a smile, grateful for her friend's efforts to cheer her up. She knew Ino was right, that she needed to give herself some time... but she just couldn't shake off the feeling that time would only make it worse.

OoOoO

''Tomorrow is our first C-ranked mission!'' Naruto told his father proudly once they sat down for dinner. Tonight was his mom's own special curry recipe. Naruto took his spoon and dug into the plate.

Minato stopped eating suddenly, staring at his son in mild disbelief. It seemed a little early to give team seven their first C-rank, but considering Naruto and Sasuke's skills, he should have seen it coming.

''You'll be going outside the village, then,'' Minato concluded. Naruto nodded happily. ''Have you told your teammates about your... condition?'' Naruto chewed on his food with a little less appetite at that. He swallowed it and looked down at his plate, not really wanting to meet his dad's eyes. Minato had his answer.

''Kakashi already knows of course, but your teammates deserve to know. Especially if the Akatsuki tries to make a move... which I hope they won't.'' Minato highly doubted they would. The Akatsuki had lost a few of their members when they had attacked Uzushio. The Yellow Flash did not think they would be ready to hunt the Kyuubi again anytime soon.

''I know... I'll tell them tomorrow,'' Naruto muttered quietly. He really didn't want to do it, but he supposed he had no choice now. It was better to just get it over with.

''You know also that my Hirashin seal won't be active at the distance you'll be, right? That means you won't be able to summon me for help should things go wrong,'' Minato added uneasily. It frustrated him that he had not yet managed to perfect his seal for very long distances. It was highly ambitious of him to try and reach that goal, but it didn't make it any less necessary if he wanted to protect his son.

Naruto threw him a smile that seemed half way in between exasperation and amusement. It truly touched him that his dad was so concerned for him, and he had every right to feel that way, but he hoped his father also realized that sheltering him wouldn't make him any stronger in the end.

''No worries, dad, Kakashi will take good care of us,'' Naruto said, taking another huge mouthful of curry. ''You're getting a lot better at cooking, you know.'' Minato laughed loudly.

''Thanks, but don't talk with your mouth full!'' he half scolded; the rice and stew falling disgracefully from Naruto's mouth was a sight to be seen. Minato silently chastised himself for being such a worrywart. He trusted Kakashi, along with Jiraiya, more than anyone else to protect his son and his teammates. Still, he simply couldn't help himself. He doubted he would get any sleep during the time Naruto was on that mission.

OoOoO

The next morning, Naruto knelt in front of a low table in his room, tall mirror standing against the wall behind it. On the table were his two forehead protectors: the one from Uzushio and the one he had recently received from Konoha. As he did every morning since graduating, he let the Uzushio hitai-ate lay on the table and put on the other one. There was another major change this morning, though; for the first time since he had arrived in Hidden Leaf, Naruto chose not to wear his mourning clothes. One more step towards healing, he thought.

Today was his fist mission outside of the village. It was the beginning of a new life as a true, full-fledge shinobi. And well, if he had to be honest, his black gears weren't the most practical. For regular training and D-ranks it was enough, but they didn't allow for a lot of storing or comfort in movement, unlike the clothes he was wearing now.

He wore a thin but comfortable long-sleeved orange turtle neck over which he wore a traditional, Uzumaki-style white Kimono with the signature large sleeves. The kimono stopped mid-thigh, so he also wore black capris, and fishnets over his calves. He wore black leather sandals and a large black obi was that was also solidly holding a big scroll at his back. He had three much smaller scrolls tied to one of his thighs and a shuriken pouch on his right side attached to his obi. He looked pretty badass, if he could say so himself. Mom would have been proud. And would have squealed.

He grinned to himself in the mirror before rushing downstairs where he could hear his father making breakfast.

''Are you sure you don't want me to see you off at the gate?'' Minato asked once both were ready to leave to start the day. Naruto nodded. Minato tried to hide his disappointment, but he also understood Naruto's reasons. The older blond engulfed his son into a tight hug, which Naruto returned with equal force.

Minato ruffled his son's hair affectionately and watched him leave from the porch of their apartment. Minato felt a painful pang to his heart seeing his son's retreating form. He would probably never get used to the sight.

OoOoO

Team seven's mission was very simple, but that didn't make Naruto feel any less thrilled. Just the fact that they would be exploring new places was enough to fuel the young seal user's excitement.

A rich governing lord from the Hot Spring village in the land of Water had recently commissioned an extremely expensive set of fine china from a reputed artisan in Konoha. Their mission was to bring the set to the Lord. The first half of the payment had been given as guarantee and the other would be given upon reception. Since rumours were easily spread and since the set was highly precious and expensive, it was bound to attract burglars and other such rogues. The lord apparently had the means, and no scruples, to hire ninjas for the delivery.

Naruto had instantly suggested the idea of sealing up the set into a scroll to make travelling easier and avoid accidents, which of course the rest of the team supported.

In all honesty, Kakashi had not expected any thieves to cross their way, but he was proven wrong once they entered Water territory, close to their client's village. Much to Kakashi's pride, however, his little genins handled them flawlessly without his interfering once. They even got the opportunity to put into practice some of the things he had taught them, let it be offensive ninjutsus, battle strategies or chakra control. Naruto had gotten some scratches and bruises from being too reckless, but did otherwise splendidly.

Really, the only thing that had bothered him in those attacks was Sakura's lack of active participation. She had mostly acted as support. Knowing the girl, Kakashi knew it wasn't out of fear or cowardice but purely because of her lack of self-confidence. The poor girl wanted to do well, but she constantly felt unfit compared to the boys.

Kakashi refrained himself from sighing. He wasn't sure what to do with her anymore. Naruto was the friendly type and always tried to make her feel part of the team, but it was obvious that both boys were going easy on her when sparring, compared to when Sasuke and Naruto were fighting each other. Sasuke had been pretty cold in the beginning, but Naruto's encouragement (and Kakashi's orders) to try and interact positively with the girl had helped a little bit with that... As well as Kakashi's request to Sakura to try and minimize her attempts of getting Sasuke's affection. It just made things awkward for everyone. Sakura herself seemed to be slowly giving up on the idea.

She was entering a moody teenage girl phase filled with self-doubt and self-reprimand. Kakashi figured they had done what they could and that the solution could only come from within her. She needed a wake-up call, so to speak. Kakashi would just have to make sure that her wake-up call wouldn't be as drastic as Kakashi's own had been.

Later that same night they had fought off some petty thieves, all four shinobi sat around a fire, having just enjoyed a light meal. Ever the attentive one, Sakura noticed that Naruto's light injuries had completely vanished, leaving smooth skin behind.

''Is fast healing part of your clan's famous life force?'' Sakura asked, unable to help her curiosity. Sasuke turned his attention on them, interested in what the blond had to say. Now that he thought about it, Naruto hadn't seemed to heal faster than normal when they had met as children. And now, since the blond arrived in Konoha, it was clear that the bruises he got from training faded quite fast.

Naruto played with his empty bowl and chopsticks nervously, looking between his two teammates, unsure of what to say. Should he confess now? How should he approach this? He silently begged Kakashi for help, but his sensei's visible eye was simply telling him to get it out.

But he couldn't.

''Not really... I mean, no, it's not that... It's sort of a seal, you know? But...'' He looked down, ashamed of himself for lying. He silently implored their forgiveness. _Sorry guys. I don't want to lie to you. Just wait a little, okay?_ ''But I can't really talk about it now. Sorry.''

''No worries,'' Sakura answered quickly. The last thing she wanted was to make Naruto feel uncomfortable. She had probably brought up a bad memory... from his village's destruction maybe. ''I was just curious. Sorry for asking.'' She smiled comfortingly at her teammate.

''It's no problem. Sorry.'' He scratched his head sheepishly.

Kakashi sighed. _Well, that was awkward. Come on, Naruto. You'll need to tell them sooner or later, and sooner is better._

Sasuke watched Kakashi's dejected expression with the corner of his eye suspiciously.

OoOoO

''Looks like we've arrived,'' Kakashi told his students when a large, well-guarded gate came into view.

The name of the village was carved elegantly onto its arch. While the large gate gave off an air of opulence and stability, the little party was rather startled by what they saw once inside the village's walls. The disparity between the working and ruling classes was dreadfully obvious.

''Come on, old man, where's the rest?'' a tall, intimidating man growled to an old merchant, counting through a thick pile of bank notes. Two other intimidating men were standing behind the tall man with their arms crossed, their body language suggesting negotiation was not an option. The clothes the three men were wearing, with their quality fabric and village crest on, also told the leaf nins that they were working for the governing lord. Was this how taxes were claimed here? Naruto certainly did not approve. When he did not approve of something, he always made it clearly known.

''Hey!'' Naruto cried out, storming off towards the poor old man. Kakashi protested and tried to catch the blond boy's arm, but Naruto did not let himself be stopped.

''Naruto, come back!'' Kakashi ordered in vain. He sighed, walking towards the scene. Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered trying to tell the blond what to do. Once the kid had an idea in his head, there wasn't anything to stop him.

''What an idiot,'' Sasuke sighed as well, rolling his eyes. He seemed to be doing that a lot around the blond. Though, he also couldn't help a small, fond smile. His friend was always looking for an opportunity to play the hero. Sakura followed mutely behind him, looking at the scene worriedly. Hopefully, they wouldn't get in trouble with their client -the lord of this town- for messing with the authority.

''What do you think you're doing!'' Naruto pointed an accusing finger at the three bullies and glared childishly at them. ''You better leave that old man alone! Can't you see he's already given you more than he can?''

''Mind your own damn business, kid,'' the leader of the three spat out in growls, then took a moment to look at Naruto's headband. He narrowed his eyes. So this kid was a ninja. Well, not like it mattered. He'd teach him a lesson. ''Get out of my sight.''

Naruto got into a fighting stance, ready to take whatever the ugly bull threw at him. Said man raised his arm, seemingly not having any problem with harming a young twelve year old. He slammed his fist down, but it was caught before it could hit its target. The man scowled, ready to launch another hit at whoever the hell had dared to stop him. He turned his head and stopped dead when he saw the look in the silver haired man's eye. He gulped nervously. Fighting some ninja kid was one thing, but he wasn't fool enough to go against a jounin from Konoha. His two goonies seemed to be thinking along the same lines as they did not move to defend their boss.

''I don't know why you shinobis decided to butt in, but this isn't over, old man,'' the man said, ripping his arm away from Kakashi's grip. He turned to the old man and glared warningly at him. ''We'll be back and you better have the rest of what you owe our lord by then.'' And with that, they left.

''What the hell, sensei!'' Naruto turned to his mentor, pouting shamelessly. ''I could totally have taken on that ugly gorilla, you know!''

''No need to start a fight when it isn't necessary,'' Kakashi replied lazily, digging his hands into his pocket.

''Um...'' The little group of leaf shinobis turned to face the merchant. ''Thank you, really.'' The old man bowed. ''I don't know what they would have done to me or my family if you hadn't helped.'' He bowed again. ''I'm afraid I don't have much to repay you with, but if you'd like, I could offer you some tea and a warm snack. You look like you've been travelling for a while.''

''We wouldn't want to impose-'' Kakashi wanted to refuse, not wanting to bother the old man, but he was quickly interrupted by his blond student.

''Really? That'd be great!''

''Naruto...'' Sakura reprimanded her teammate.

''It's not trouble at all, I assure you,'' the old man said hurriedly. ''It would be an honour. Please, come in.''

After a brief moment of reflection, Kakashi decided to accept the man's invitation. This would be a good opportunity to learn a little more about their client. They still had some time before they were expected at the lord's residence.

Mr. Isobe, as he introduced himself, invited them into his shop then passed through the backdoor to reach a sort of guest room. The man's living arrangements were extremely modest and poorly furnished; a strange contrast with the otherwise large and spacious building. The room they settled in was as empty as the rest of the rooms they saw. There was a tatami floor, one low table in the middle and a few thin cushions to sit on. The man left for a short moment and came back with green tea and a plate of steamed buns. Naruto wanted to dig in instantly, having eaten only rations, small fish and wild fruits for the last past days. However, after seeing their host's home, he felt much too guilty to take even one bun.

''Please, help yourselves,'' Isobe insisted when his guests didn't touch the food. ''I assure you, despite what you see, I am not in want of food. My brother has a farm and I have a small garden where I get most of my vegetables,'' he informed them, smiling kindly. ''I suppose I should feel grateful towards our lord for at least not letting us starve to death. He knows he wouldn't be able to take our money if we were too ill to work,'' he added bitterly through his teeth. He looked back at his guests and looked at the small blond across him. He pushed his plates towards him, nodding in silent encouragement. The small leaf nin blushed, feeling embarrassed, but decided to take a bun after all.

''Thanks,'' he smiled meekly, taking a small bite. His smile brightened instantly. ''This is really good, Isobe-san!'' The old man chuckled, thanking the blond. He then took a small sip of his cup, expression mournful.

''It wasn't always like this. We used to be prosper and we were living a good life. Our lord was a just and caring man. His laws and tax rates were fair and were used to improve public services. Then, about four years ago, our lord suddenly changed. He grew greedy, always claiming more and more. He hired many guards to terrorize and claim our money and belongings. He lives in unimaginable luxury now... leaving us with nothing. Even his personality seems to have changed.'' Isobe tightened his grip on his cup, old wrinkled hands shaking slightly.

''It's strange...'' Sakura said, holding her chin pensively. ''Lord Juba has governed this region for over fifteen years now and, as you said, he's known to be a fair lord. It's strange that he would suddenly get greedy and fraud his own people like this only now.'' She turned towards the men around her only to blink at their confused expressions.

''How come you know so much about this place?'' Sasuke asked sceptically. Sakura shrugged.

''I decided to do a little research before we left for our mission. I figured it would be useful to know more about our destination beforehand.'' She smiled somewhat teasingly at her comrades. ''Don't you guys do your homework?''

Kakashi nodded approvingly. The nature of their mission, a simple delivery, did not require information gathering such as Sakura did, but he liked that Sakura had taken the initiative. She had already developed habits that sometimes took other ninjas years to truly adopt.

''Well, one thing's for sure,'' Naruto said, crossing his arms stubbornly. ''I'm not so thrilled about meeting this Juba-guy to give him his commission, which he probably paid with the people's money in the first place. This whole thing smells fishy, you know?''

OoOoO

After thanking their host, the small Leaf party went on their way towards the lord's mighty residence. The old man hadn't exaggerated when he had told them lord Juba lived an extravagant life. The furniture, the draperies, the art exposed on walls or cabinets, everything was a testimony of the lord's now tyrannical ruling.

Mean-looking guards guided their way along the vast hallways until they reached a sort of throne room, another ridiculous show of power and fortune for what used to be a simple town leader.

Several guards, armed to the teeth, were posted in all corners of the room. High up at the very end of it sat none other than Juba, who was richly dressed of course. Against their will, team seven bowed politely to salute their client. Juba's sharp eyes thinned when he caught a glimpse of the clan symbols the two younger ninjas wore on their back.

''Welcome, welcome,'' Juba said, rising from his seat and going down the few stairs that separated him from his guests' level. ''I hope you did not encounter too many brigands on your way here and that my commission stayed intact.''

''It did, _my lord_ ,'' Naruto said, not bothering to hide his disdain anymore. _Like mother, like son_ , Kakashi thought idly.

Naruto took a scroll from his holster at his hip and promptly revealed the exquisite set of china to his client. Juba's smiled smugly, though not only because of the set.

''Interesting,'' he said vaguely, stroking his chin. ''Are you from Uzushiogakure? Your clan symbol certainly suggests that. I thought none had survived... What's your name, boy?''

Naruto clenched his teeth, but did not grace the man with an answer.

''Uzumaki? Or did you steal that kimono you're wearing?'' That did it.

''I didn't steal it, you bastard! It's mine!''

''Naruto,'' Kakashi scolded sharply. As he looked at the fuming blond boy, he noticed Sakura was eyeing the lord suspiciously. _Hm, I wonder if she's thinking the same as me,_ he mused to himself.

''No, don't scold him,'' the lord said, ''I provoked him, after all.'' He laughed and certainly did not sound guilty or apologetic at all.

''So, Uzumaki Naruto, it is then? What an _honour._ '' He turned his attention to Sasuke, who looked back at him in defiance. ''Two lone heirs in my humble adobe.'' Sasuke stayed perfectly stoic.

Kakashi didn't particularly enjoy the interest this corrupted man was giving his two young students. Time to cut this business meeting short.

''Now that our mission has been accomplished successfully, it is time for us to return to Konoha. It was a pleasure doing business with you.'' He bowed slightly a second time then looked at his students, ready to tell them to leave.

''You're not really leaving now, are you? It's almost supper time and you must be tired from travelling so far. Please, stay the night. I will give you the second instalment of your payment tomorrow morning. How does that sound?''

Kakashi eyed the man sharply and considered his options. On the one hand, he didn't want to stay here longer than necessary. They had other missions waiting for them at home. On the other hand, he was pretty curious to find out more about what was going on with this lord, if only to report the information back to Konoha. He had his suspicions, but he needed to find proof.

''With pleasure.''

His students looked at him incredulously, but did not dare to voice their disapproval. A great effort on Naruto's part especially.

After a sumptuous meal, team seven was escorted to luxurious quarters for the night. The three bedrooms -one for Kakashi, one for Sakura and one for Naruto and Sasuke to share- were all linked to a comfortable common room with a low table and other commodities . The children gathered around the low table on Kakashi's order, who then performed a jutsu to ensure the secrecy of their meeting.

''So, what do you think about our client?'' Kakashi asked his students.

''He's a _jerk_!'' Naruto burst out. Sasuke simply nodded.

''That's one thing,'' Kakashi chuckled. ''Anything else?'' He turned to Sakura, who looked deep in thought. Kakashi smiled and encouraged her to speak out.

''It's just... I think it's weird that a lord of a remote town in a foreign land would recognize Naruto and Sasuke's clans.''

''That's true. I didn't think about it, but now that you mention it...'' Sasuke trailed off. Sakura gained some confidence seeing that Sasuke agreed with her.

''It'd make more sense if he was a ninja himself at least, but I know from my research that he isn't. It's very suspicious.''

''Wow, you're so smart Sakura! We're lucky to have you on our team!'' Naruto exclaimed, which brought a happy smile to the girl's face.

''Indeed, very well observed. I was thinking exactly the same as you. I think this Juba is an imposter. Every clue points towards this theory, at least,'' Kakashi added.

''What?! An imposter?! Then what are we doing, sitting here doing nothing? We gotta uncover him!'' Kakashi was glad he had put his privacy jutsu on. Could the kid get any louder? Definitely his mother's child.

''It isn't what we were hired for. We'll gather some more information around the village tomorrow, then we'll head back and report. We're not supposed to linger here and it isn't our business anyway.''

''But-!''

''I understand how you feel, Naruto,'' Kakashi quickly interrupted the blond before he made another scene. ''but we can't just mess with another country's politics like this. We'll report our findings to the Hokage, who will inform the Misukage -though I doubt the Misukage isn't aware already.'' This talk was all too familiar to Naruto, who remembered his first unofficial mission with his family some years ago. Damned politics.

Naruto looked down dejectedly at his lap, fists tight with frustration. Still, he knew his sensei was right. He'd just have to persuade the old man Hokage to do something about this. Those poor villagers... it just wasn't fair!

''Alright...''

OoOoO

''You want us to kidnap them?!'' Juba delivered a powerful slap to his subordinate's face.

''You idiot! Why don't you go tell them directly while you're at it!'' Juba clenched his fists angrily. Obviously, fighting skills didn't necessarily come with intelligence. Fortunately for them, however, the Leaf guests' rooms were much too far for them to have heard anything. He sighed deeply, letting his anger go, then continued.

''And yes, I want you to bring them to me _alive_. Do you have any idea how much the last Uchiha and the last Uzumaki could be worth? I know plenty enemies of the Leaf who would pay big to get their hands on those two.''

''I get that boss, but that Jounin looks pretty strong... and what about the girl?'' Juba fought very hard against the urge to facepalm. He knew he should have invested in stronger, smarter ninja guards instead of building a new pavilion to his mansion.

''You're what... fifteen chunin-level men against one lame-looking jounin and three little kids? Just kill the man and the girl and bring the two boys to me. Now get out of my sight. I don't pay you to piss your pants.''

Four of Juba's men slipped quietly through the halls of the mansion while the rest remained in the shadows to serve as backup. They moved in absolute silence until they reached the sliding doors of the sleeping boys' room. They opened them with the care of trained ninjas and, not wanting to spoil their element of surprised, instantly bounced on the boys.

To their surprise and despite the odd hour of the night, it seemed neither had been sleeping. Sasuke was the first to react, taking out a kunai from under his pillow and pushing the grown man away. Naruto had opted for a bit more flamboyant response with a spin on his hands to deliver a powerful kick in his attacker's stomach.

''What the hell!'' Naruto cried out as he threw his kick.

Just as the two other ninjas were about the go after them, Kakashi blasted through the rice-paper doors and easily pushed them away before getting into a fighting stance, Sakura following closely behind. Naruto noticed the silver-haired man looked very pissed; more so than the time when the blond had accidentally spilling ramen broth onto his Icha Icha Dating Special Edition book. Naruto knew Kakashi meant serious business.

''In formation, kids!'' Kakashi ordered in his sharp commanding voice. He, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura rapidly formed a small circle with their backs facing each other. All fifteen enemy ninjas gathered to surround them.

Naruto conjured as many clones to fight them off, but these were still chunin-level fighters, so most of his clones were dispersed before they could do much damage. Nevertheless, Naruto continued to produce more clones in between attacks as they kept the enemies from overwhelming them with their number.

By that time, Kakashi had knocked out most of them while his students mostly just pushed them back. They were doing a great job again, Kakashi thought proudly as he disfigured one of Juba's men with a good ol' punch.

Once the number of attackers had decreased enough for him to take a small breath, Sasuke performed his favourite fireball technique, causing fire and forcing everyone to retreat. Only a handful of Juba's men stayed behind to perform water techniques to put out the fire. They were now free from the confiding walls of the mansion, but a fairly large party of more ninjas was waiting for them, along with Juba at their lead.

Naruto's fists clenched angrily at his sides. Despite what Kakashi had said, he could not bring himself to just try and get out of this without teaching this guy a lesson. Besides, he had attacked them first, so this was just legitimate defence, right? He quickly grabbed the large scroll attached and rushed towards the men.

''Naruto! Come back!'' Kakashi ordered, cursing Naruto's impulsiveness again. The kids should have gone back into formation as soon as they saw the enemies. After all of this was over, he'd make sure to give Naruto a piece of his mind. No doubt Minato would gladly partake.

Naruto ignored his sensei's order and unwrapped the first two feet of his scroll.

''Release!'' Naruto said aloud, activating the first seal on his scroll. It was one of his father's infamous Wind Palm techniques, sending the chunin ninjas flying several metres back, slamming against the stone walls surrounding the mansion. Bracing himself for the impact, Lord Juba had crossed his arms over his face and stood firmly into place by pouring chakra into his feet.

''What?!'' Naruto exclaimed when he saw that Juba had resisted the attack. _No way! Who is this guy?_ Naruto thought alarmingly to himself.

Kakashi was thinking along the same lines, completely taken aback as well. He knew his sensei's technique and no ordinary ninja could withstand it. Kakashi had already concluded that a trained killer had taken over Juba's identity, but this showed he was largely more powerful than he first thought. Guessing Kakashi's thoughts, the Juba usurper chuckled lowly and performed a few hand signs. Kakashi narrowed his eyes dangerously and stayed on his guards.

''I suppose there is no point in hiding it any longer.'' Once finished with his signs, his face seemed to melt off, thus making it easy for the man to peel. The now lifeless skin was thrown away and a cloud of smoke revealed a completely new man.

''Those swords...'' Kakashi gasped, eyeing the strangely shaped weapons. ''You're Raiga Kurosuki, rogua ninjas of the Hidden Mist.''

Raiga chuckled darkly, answering Kakashi's statement with his wicked smile. His dark glaring eyes shifted slowly to Naruto, one of his prized targets. Kakashi saw this and, not wasting another second, he sprinted towards his student just as Raiga did the same. Fortunately for him, Kakashi managed to reach the blond first and grabbed him his arm solidly and got the child out of danger. Unfortunately, they had to leave the kid's large scroll behind. They reappeared near his other students.

''Let me deal with this man. Your only mission is to stay alive,'' Kakashi instructed in a tone that left no room for arguments. Kakashi lifted up his forehead protector and, for the first time, his students finally saw what was hidden behind it.

''The Sharingan!'' Sasuke gasped, frowning incredulously at his sensei. ''So he's...'' Sasuke suddenly recalled vague memories of his father telling the bizarre story of an outsider getting the sharingan through sad and obscure circumstances. He could not formulate a proper sentence though; too many things he wanted to say and ask at the same time. He also knew the timing was very ill. He cursed under his breath and clenched his teeth together frustratingly. For now, he could only accept things as they were until they were safely out of this mess. The comforting thought that his sensei would be able to train him once his own sharingan awakened, though, stayed securely at the back of his mind like a lifebuoy.

''What an honour,'' Raiga muttered darkly. He smiled widely at the sight of the infamous ninja before him. It had been a while since he had fought anyone worth mention. ''Sharingan Kakashi, the Copy Ninja.''

''I don't understand,'' Naruto whispered.

''I'll answer your questions later,'' Kakashi interrupted in a booming voice. ''Now's not the time.'' With the corner of his eyes, he saw Raiga's henchmen, temporarily knocked out by Naruto's technique, get up and preparing for retaliation. They would aim for the kids, but Kakashi needed to take care of Raiga first. His students were good though; if they stayed together like he had taught them, he was certain they could manage the weaker opponents.

''Now now, little Sensei,'' Raiga chuckled nonchalantly. ''no need to be so wary. I would never hurt your little boys. He is much more precious alive.''

''You talk too much.'' Kakashi charged at the man and engaged him in taijutsu, taking extra care not to let Raiga's swords even graze him as it would lead to electrocution.

Naruto hurried towards his teammates and went back into a defensive formation. Naruto took out a smaller scroll from his equipment and unsealed several other small scrolls from it. He threw some of them at his friends. For a moment, he considered just putting a barrier around them, but figured it would ultimately amount to no good. Either the enemies would surround them until they managed to break through or they would simply gang up on sensei. Naruto shook his head. No, they had to fight them.

''If we want to help sensei,'' Naruto started as Raiga's henchmen approached faster towards them. ''we need to take care of those guys first. These are binding scrolls. All you have to do is unwrap them and find the right timing to throw them, then I'll activate them for you.'' Both Sasuke and Sakura nodded as they prepared the scrolls. Naruto summoned several shadow clones; his teammates ever grateful their friend knew such a technique when facing so many attackers.

''I won't make it so easy for you,'' Raiga said, followed by an obnoxious laughter. He quickly withdrew from Kakashi's attacks so he could perform his village's signature technique; the _Hiding in the Mist_ technique.

Naruto managed to activate the scrolls, capturing a few enemy shinobis in the process. But soon. the Mist hid their enemy's positions. Blind fighting followed, with the inexperienced genins relying on their rudimentary sensor skills, but mostly their instinct. While the enemies were also blinded by the mist, they were used to it, having gone through endless training and knowing how to use it to their advantage. Cuts and bruises were inevitable for the Leaf genins, but thanks to their solid teamwork and skills, they were holding their own far better than the Mist ninjas expected.

Meanwhile, Kakashi narrowed his eyes dangerously at the vague shape of a man standing in from of him. He had to beat this man and quick, not liking how it was becoming more and more hazardous for the children. His sharingan started spinning when it noticed Raiga start up a series of handsigns; Kakashi's hands moved almost on their own and copied it.

Before long, the children were starting to lose their sense of direction du to their lack of reference points to depend on. The fighting inevitably made the young Leaf ninjas move in directions they shouldn't have gone to, thus getting separated.

Naruto looked around frantically for his teammates, but could see none of them. He felt a powerful kick in his stomach which shoved him harshly several metres away. He fell to the ground, scrapping his cheeks and hands in the process. Naruto cursed under his breath, angry for being so easily thrown off.

''Water-''

''Water Dragon Jutsu,'' Kakashi finished before Raiga. Raiga's eyes widened as he saw the dragon advancing fast towards him. Impossible! He managed to perform a replacement technique before the dragon's powerful water bullets reached him. Once out of danger, Raiga reconsidered his plans. He had heard of the dangerous Leaf nin, but fighting him was something else. He would have to use all he got, and use what the man could not copy... He unsheathed his swords and clenched them tightly, deadly electric sparks emerging.

Naruto looked around until he could vaguely see the light that emanated from Sasuke's fire techniques and hear the clattering of Sakura's kunais. He could return to them, now that he knew where they were, but another idea came to mind. He _had_ to get rid of that stupid mist. Since the enemy probably didn't know where he had ended up, Naruto decided to take the opportunity to slip through the mist in search of his giant scroll. Using all the stealth skills he had, Naruto slowly advanced towards where he believed the scroll lay. Luck smiled upon him and before long, he managed to get a hold of it. He opened and released another of his father's wind jutsus.

''Release!'' Naruto cried out, letting swirly gusts of wind clear the mist out. He smiled triumphantly as he saw his friends and sensei still standing strong.

''Well done, Naruto,'' Sasuke muttered to himself. He caught an alarming movement through the corner of his eye. He moved just in time to keep a chunin from planting a kunai through Sakura's back, though not without getting it planted deep into his arm. The raven growled lowly in pain, but did not let it keep from throwing back a solid punch. Sasuke knew instantly from the gross cracking sound that he had broken the man's nose. Sakura gasped in surprise, shaking slightly from the thought of a narrowly escaped attack. She gasped in horror when she saw her teammate's injury.

''Sasuke-kun!'' She moved hurriedly toward him, but Sasuke had not spared her a glance; he was already turned back and facing another enemy. She had no time to further dwell on her crush's injury. She was in the middle of a battle and if she kept being distracted, Sasuke would have to continue taking injuries for her. And that was out of the question. She fought back tears and pushed off another attacker. Naruto, for his part, slipped his scroll back onto his obi and rushed towards his friends.

''Not so fast,'' Raiga growled, seizing Naruto with a chocking grip on his neck. He was literally lifted up several feet high, but not for long.

''You touch him again,'' Kakashi grunted darkly though his teeth as he threw a kunai to dispel the water clone, ''and you're dead.'' Another Raiga shunshined behind Kakashi, taking the moment of distraction to strike him with blow of his twin swords. charged with a deadly electrical charge.

''I'd like to see you try- what?! He copied me again?!'' Raiga screamed out in rage as the Kakashi before him dispelled into water and fell on the ground. Raiga made a complete turn as soon as he saw the water and managed to block Kakashi's kunai just in time.

Naruto fell to the ground and coughed a few times. He struggled back to his feet and sprinted towards his teammates again. There were now only a few chunins left standing. Naruto summoned more shadow clones, seeing as all the previous ones had been dispelled. In all that chaos, Naruto also managed to take out the kunai Sasuke had in his arm and place a quick seal to numb and protect the wound.

Raiga cursed madly under his breath. This was getting out of control. He had been right in guessing that the two young clan heirs would be strong, but the small blond had exceeded all of his expectations. He had never guessed a genin would be able to summon so many solid clones, and combined with his scroll full of powerful sealed techniques, he knew getting him alive _while_ fighting an elite jounin would be nearly impossible. It was time to get nasty and aggressive.

Naruto couldn't help but smile when he finally saw the number of chunin reduced to only a pair. Only one of his clones was still active, so he brought his fingers together in a cross to summon more. However, when his lasting clone saw that, the fake Naruto jumped on him, seizing his arms in an iron grip, and brought a kunai to his neck.

''What the-?!'' Naruto's eyes widened, utterly shocked. Sasuke and Sakura knocked out the last two chunins and turned to behold the horrific scene.

''Naruto!'' Both teammates shouted his name. Naurto's clone puffed into smoke to reveal a water clone of Raiga. The clone sliced just on the very surface of Naurto's neck, sending a very clear warning to the rest of the Leaf nins.

All were immobile and deadly silent.

''I see you've chosen death,'' Kakashi muttered darkly to the real Raiga. Kakashi had only himself to blame though; Raiga had doubtless used the mist to hide one of his clone to infiltrate the battle going on between the children and the enemy to use at any given opportunity. He should have seen this kind of low trick coming.

''You move even the slightest muscle, and the kid is dead,'' the real Raiga warned. The kids' lives didn't matter anymore, regardless of their clans. Now, he just wanted to get out of this mess alive.

''Same for your other students,'' the clone said, looking at Sakura and Sasuke. ''If you try anything, this little blond head will get detached from its body.'' His clone drew more of Naruto's blood to make his point.

Sakura chocked on a sob, knees finally giving up under the pressure and fell to the ground. Sasuke clenched his fists and teeth in pure, unashamed anger that he had not felt since his family's murder. Once again, he was faced with his weakness.

''D-don't worry guys...'' Naruto whispered to his friends, hurting to see them so devastated. He damned himself for letting this happen and making his friends feel this way.

Kakashi was completely motionless, but on the inside, he was a torrent of anger. His mind and sharingan eye analyzed any bit of information and all of his surroundings, desperately trying to find a way out. But truth was, he was simply too far from both Naruto and the two Raigas to try anything; Naurto would be dead before he reached either targets.

Raiga chuckled darkly, which soon turned into obnoxious laughter. He held his twin swords high, charging them with his electric jutsus. He slowly walked towards Kakashi. No clones or tricks this time; he could take his time and enjoy having taken down one of the Leaf's most feared shinobis.

Kakashi stayed as impassive as ever, waiting for Raiga to make his move. Once barely a foot separated them, Raiga threw the jounin another wicked smiled and planted one of his swords in Kakashi's shoulder.

Kakashi heard his students let out a terrified gasped and yelled his name. For their sake, Kakashi refused to show the pain that he was in. The electric pulses running through his body, though extremely painful, were not deadly. Raiga was apparently a petty man with a ridiculous power-complex; decent ninjas would never waste unnecessary time on pain and vengeance in these circumstances.

Raiga slowly took out his sword from Kakashi's flesh, leaving blood pour out profusely. He enjoyed every pained twitch in his opponent's eyes and the cold sweat that was falling down paling skin. He would never tire of the sight and of the pure feeling of power he felt. He raised his other sword, ready to deliver another blow, knowing the Leaf would never dare to move.

Konoha and their weak little emotions and sense of right; it would surely be their downfall.

Naruto felt his heartbeat decrease in speed. His mind felt numb to the point where he did not feel his body anymore. Yet, this sensation was somewhat familiar; he had felt it before but to a lesser degree. His natural chakra reserve, though not quite empty, was running low which made it easier for his host to make its presence known. Any restrain and power Naruto held over the seal was gone with the emotional shock.

The sudden outburst of the Kyuubi's chakara alone was enough to dispel the clone that was holding him. Naruto, guiding the Kyuubi's power with anger alone, sprinted at a blinding speed towards the real Raiga.

''Wha-what's happening?'' Sakura whispered in a trembling, fear-stricken voice. Sasuke was at loss of words. He had never felt such power, such killing intent. It was suffocating; it was a wonder Sakura could even speak. The raven could not believe the transformation Naruto had just gone through; he was literally surrounded by red, flame-like chakra. Chakra so powerful and raw that it could be seen. His eyes, normally the kindest shade of blue, were blood-red and slit like a demon's.

Fangs and claws dug deep into Raiga's skin. The latter screamed out in pain; he had no idea what was happening. All he knew was that he was in horrible pain and would probably die from it.

Kakashi's eyes were wide in horror. His priorities completely shifted; Naruto was now the most dangerous variable. Kakashi's heart was beating at an alarming speed and the rush of adrenaline made him completely forget about his gaping wound. Taking out one of his old Sensei's paper seal from his pouch, Kakashi plunged towards the two figures. He grabbed Naruto from behind and rolled to the side, holding him down. The child was so blind from rage that he had not seen Kakashi coming at all. The demon-possessed child gasped in surprise and red eyes froze when they recognized his sensei, yet his body continued to move and struggle against Kakashi's grip. The grey-haired jounin, however, did not let the Kyuubi's will carry on, for he immediately plastered the seal on the child's forehead.

The red flames dissipated and eyes turned back to blue before closing.

Kakashi let out a shaky, but truly relieved sigh. He saw through the corner of his eyes that Raiga was a trembling, sobbing, bloody mess, but still very much alive.

He slowly rose from the ground and turned towards the Mist ninja. Against his better judgement, Kakashi summoned a Chidori with his uninjured arm.

He made Raiga pay; the man, judging by his scream, suffered greatly before letting out his last breath.

Kakashi looked down at Raiga blankly, then everything was black.

OoOoO

Kakashi was the last one to wake up. The grey-haired man sat on his bed at Hot Spring's general hospital. He hissed from the sharp pain in his shoulder and the pulsing headache from using the Sharingan. Looking at the dark bags under Sakura's eyes, the jounin guessed the young girl probably hadn't even slept at all. Kakashi sighed softly at the downcast expressions his three students wore.

''Kakashi-sensei!'' Naruto was the first to notice their sensei's awakening and his sad blue eyes left space for relief and happiness. The two others promptly followed with worried enquiries after his health. Kakashi eye-smiled back at them all.

''I'm fine, don't worry. I'll be as good as new in no time,'' he supplied with a comforting voice. Kakashi saw in his students' eyes what they were thinking; they were all self-rebuking. They were so easy to read and all so self-conscious in their own ways. Kakashi sighed again, but he also understood how they felt. He had been that age too. He also blamed himself for what happened, but Kakashi was too experienced to let it get to him for long. He had dealt with all his emotions when he had killed Raiga.

''I cannot say just how proud I am of you all,'' Kakashi began in a soft deep voice. Three pair of incredulous eyes turned to him. ''We were completely unprepared for what happened last night and our opponents were far above our level. We all made it out safely and you held your own all the way through. I am impressed, truly.''

Kakashi hoped his words would eventually reach them; he wasn't worried about Naruto, knowing his nature, but Kakashi was especially worried about Sasuke who normally cared little for others' approval and too much for his own. If Sasuke wasn't satisfied with his performance, then there was little Kakashi could do.

''Now I'm sure you all have many questions about my eye,'' Kakashi added with a more playful ton, pointing to his hidden eye. ''but there is something else I'd like to discuss first.''

''Does it have anything to do with Naruto's strange red chakra?'' Sasuke asked casually, giving his blond friend a prying look. Naruto instantly blushed from the shame he felt and looked down anxiously at his hands.

''Indeed,'' Kakashi smiled. He joined his hands in a short series of handsigns and placed a privacy jutsu in their shared room. ''It's safe, Naruto. You can talk.''

Naruto closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, still not knowing how he should bring the subject up. He bit the inside of his cheeks nervously, the fear of being rejected or hated by his teammates eating at his very core. He looked hesitantly at Sasuke and Sakura before finally gathering the courage to speak. The sight was especially strange to Sasuke, who had known him for far longer than the girl.

''Have you heard or the Tailed Beasts?'' Sasuke shook his head no, so Sakura decided to supply.

''I have,'' she started. ''There are nine of them. If I'm correct, they are creatures made of pure chakra and the more tails they have, the more powerful they are. I thought they were a myth though; I've never heard of them being alive of manifesting themselves in any village.''

''I'm surprised you know so much, Sakura,'' Kakashi replied genuinely.

''I may or may not have gotten into forbidden parts of the library,'' Sakura chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. Truth was, she had read most of the stuff that were allowed to students and genins, so she had gotten a little bold and had gotten past the librarians' guard. She literally knew their schedules by heart and she was pretty good at keeping a low profile and chakra level so... it hadn't been that hard, really. Plus, knowing random stuff seemed to be the only thing she was useful for in her team, so she had studied particularly hard for the past several weeks.

''They've been kept prisoners for decades now,'' Naruto said, distractingly putting a hand over his stomach. ''Mito-sama was the first one to imprison one of those beasts and became the first Jinchuuriki.''

''What's a Jinchuuriki?'' Sasuke asked when he saw Sakura didn't know what it was either.

''It means she was the first to host a beast; the Kyuubi, or the Nine Tails, was sealed within her. After her was my mother… and now me.''

The silence was more troubling than Naruto had thought, He would have preferred them to voice their disgust. At least he would be sure of what they were thinking. He hadn't even gotten to the worst part yet.

''B-but why...'' Sakura whispered at last. ''Why would they do that to you?'' It just seemed too cruel for anyone to bare such a burden, especially someone like Naruto. Sasuke seemed equally confused, but had many more questions to ask.

''Thank you for telling your team, Naruto. I know it must have been hard. Let me take it from here,'' Kakashi told his youngest student kindly, who merely nodded, still looking down at his lap in shame.

''You knew?'' Sasuke turned towards Kakashi when the latter spoke. He shouldn't be surprised by it, yet he was. Kakashi nodded solemnly. Sasuke was not going to like what was coming next.

''The Kyuubi, Naruto's prisoner, is partly why his village was attacked. An organization called the Akatsuki is trying to get a hold on all the tailed beasts. I am sorry to say, Sasuke, that your brother is one of those who were assigned to capture Naruto.''

Naruto snapped his head up to look at Kakashi with wide, disbelieving eyes. Shocked blue orbs then fell upon Sasuke, who was trembling and clenching his fists in anger. Until now, Naruto had never realized his pursuer and the murderer of Sasuke's family (as well as Naruto's, by affiliation) were one and the same. _And he's Sasuke's brother?!_ That made things all the more complicated and painful.

''The _bastard_ ,'' Sasuke spit out like pure venom. ''I'm going to _kill_ him,'' he promised himself for the hundredth time. Sasuke punched the wall behind him with all his might, making a nasty hole in the plaster. Sakura flinched at the sight; she had never seen Sasuke so angry before. It was definitely not something she wanted to see again anytime soon.

''Sasuke...'' Naruto whispered, trying to think of something to say that would ease his friend's pain. But what _could_ he say? He wanted to apologize even knowing he had had no power in this, but Fate had been cruel with them, apologizing would undoubtedly come across as insulting.

Sasuke turned towards his blond friend, eyes burning with a fire completely unknown to Naruto. He had never felt vengeance like Sasuke's; even his father, who was grieved and angry beyond words, did not emanate desires for violence and killing like Sasuke did. It sent ominous shivers down Naruto's spine.

''He'll bleed to death before he can even lay a finger on you,'' Sasuke told Naruto, pouring his will into every word. ''I'll make sure of it.''

Sakura, surprised yet touched by Sasuke's desire to protect his friend, nodded and smiled encouragingly at Naruto.

''We'll be there for you, right sensei?''

''Of course,'' Kakashi smiled. He was happy his team supported Naruto, though Sasuke's reaction was still somewhat worrisome.

''You mean you don't…'' Naruto trailed off with a trembling voice. Tears of relief gathered in his eyes. He felt like a tone had been left from his shoulders. He wiped them with the back of his hands and smiled a true, genuine smile at his precious team.

Sasuke had just found out there was still someone alive to protect from his brother, and he'd be damned if he let the vile man take someone from him once again. He would avenge his clan _and_ would prove his brother wrong by showing he was strong enough to be there for his precious people.

* * *

I hope this chapter met your expectations. Good fighting scenes are a pain in the neck to write. I tried to make it work, but I'd love to hear what you thought as well.

'Till next time!


	9. The Uzumaki

**Note:** We are nearing the end of the story. This chapter is slightly different because I wanted to give you a more intimate view of the made-up identity and culture I imagined for Uzushio before the (most likely) final chapter, which is (I'm guessing) the one you've all been waiting for.

 **I hope you'll enjoy this new chapter!**

* * *

 **Silver Lining**

 _The Uzumaki_

\- - - Konoha: Three days after the destruction on Uzushio - - -

Sasuke sprinted across the streets of Konoha, putting all his might into his legs. The fact he had reacted so strongly emotionally caught him off guard, but there was no point in denying it. His heart pondered fast against his chest, suspense almost choking his throat.

Before releasing them for the day, Iruka-sensei had informed them of Uzushiogakure's doom. One of the most feared shinobi village completely destroyed in a single night by outnumbering enemies stabbing it in the back. An attack that seemingly came out of nowhere, with no political trigger, economical conflict or any sort of warning. There had been very few survivors, and even less who had made it to Konoha in time.

Sasuke pushed open the main doors of the hospital, almost knocking a visitor out in the process. He ignored the lady's indignant cries and rushed to the nurse holding the reception office. There were a few nurses hurrying around with pads and syringes, whispering worriedly about life and deaf cases.

The receptionist blinked at the sight of a panting Sasuke, who was gripping the countor until his knuckles turned white.

''Do you... have.. a patient-'' he interrupted himself so he could catch his breath properly. ''from Uzushio... A boy around my age with blond hair and blue eyes?'' Sasuke asked at last, looking intensely at the young nurse. The nurse's eyes widened a fraction, then she replied awkwardly.

''I'm afraid I'm not authorized to share this information with you,'' the nurse informed guiltily. ''The Hokage ordered us not to let any information about Uzushio's survivors out until everything is sorted out.'' _Especially about that blond boy, for some reason,_ the nurse thought.

Sasuke frowned at the nurse, gritting his teeth together in frustration. This was completely ridiculous. This zealous protection of information seemed uncalled for, despite the incredibly mysterious circumstances surrounding the events. He just wanted to know if his friend had made it... Was it really so much to ask? He took in a breath, calming his rising anger, and looked up to the nurse again.

''Please... he's my friend...'' The nurse shook her head sadly. She pitied the boy, but still would not disobey her Hokage's orders. Sasuke cursed loudly and turned around to leave. Maybe he could infiltrate through a window and find out himself...

Once outside, Sasuke didn't even have time to ponder on his plan when the voice of another woman called him out.

''Hey, you!'' Sasuke blinked, then turned around to see a young woman with short black hair jogging towards him. ''Can we talk just a moment?'' That's when Sasuke noticed the small pig running at the woman's feet. He raised a suspicious brow but nodded all the same. The woman brought him to a more private corner of the hospital's grounds and talked in a soft voice.

''Your friend, the blond boy, does he also have whisker-like scars on his cheeks?'' Sasuke's eyes widened and nodded eagerly.

''Yes. His name's Uzumaki Naruto,'' Sasuke supplied, heartbeat speeding up anew. The lady smiled, which reassured Sasuke, but the smile also held a lot of weight and sadness.

''I'm not supposed to tell you this, but I can tell he's really a good friend of yours. Naruto is in a very... delicate situation, but we stabilized him. We're doing everything we can, I promise you. I'm afraid you won't be able to visit him though, and no doubt he'll be very busy testifying with the Hokage and other officials once he's recovered... so you'll have to be patient. Still, I wanted to let you know.''

Sasuke's shoulders slacked, letting go of tension he didn't know he had been holding. He smiled gratefully at the lady -a rare thing- and nodded.

''Thank you.''

''You're welcome,'' the lady said. Sasuke noticed she had dark circles under her eyes, informing him she had probably spent the last twenty four hours working nonstop. ''I should go back now, my break's over. I need to help your friend,'' she said with a wink. ''Remember, this conversation never happened,'' she added, this time looking very seriously at Sasuke, who nodded second time.

The Uchiha watched quietly as the lady jogged back to the hospital. The boy dug his hands into the pockets of his white shorts and walked slowly back towards his apartment. As he walked, he recalled the last time he had seen Naruto and his family. He had never imagined something like this would happen... just as he never would have imagined his clan's massacre.

OoOoO

\- - - Uzushio: One year remaining - - -

''Do you see them?'' Naruto asked, standing on the tip of his toes, trying to get a better view. The sun was setting, leaving the sky a beautiful deep orange colour.

''They'll be here any second now,'' Kushina chuckled. ''Just be patient.'' Naruto and both his parents were standing at the main entrance of the village, looking out towards the bridge before them.

Jiraiya was now in Konoha and had written a couple of weeks back saying he was taking some time off and would like to visit them. Naruto was very excited to see his Godfather again, but the message had also given him another idea. He had asked, or rather begged, his parents to let Sasuke come along so he could visit them for a change. Kushina and Minato had readily agreed, of course. Since Minato tried to keep in touch with his native village and collaborated with Leaf nins every now and then, it had always been Naruto visiting Sasuke in the Leaf whenever he could be dragged along. It was Spring Break, meaning neither student had school for the next two weeks, which made for a perfect opportunity.

OoOoO

As he walked silently with the strange white-haired man, Sasuke wondered why he had accepted the invitation in the first place. The trip to Uzushio had been painfully awkward to say the least. Naruto's godfather was an exuberant man who talked too much. Sasuke also wondered about how the actual stay would go. Hanging out and training with Naruto during the day then going their separate ways for the night when the blond visited Konoha was one thing, but now Sasuke would be spending almost two whole weeks with his friend and his family. Well, at least from the little he had seen of them, Naruto's parents definitely didn't seem as ridiculous as his godfather. He found some comfort in that.

Sasuke talked too little, Jiraiya soon found out, and was very unimpressed by the fact he was travelling with one of Konoha's great Sannins. Seeing as he would never get a reaction or more than three words out of Sasuke's mouth, the Toad Sage decided not to bother anymore and had spent the last day of travel in complete silence. He wondered how his bubbly and energetic godson could be friends with such a grave, silent boy.

At last, the outline of the bridge leading to the Island hosting the Village of Longevity came to view. Sasuke suddenly felt a little excited; he had to admit he was curious about the infamous Fuinjutsu village and also a little anxious to see his only friend.

''Sasuke!'' The raven heard Naruto's cheery voice call out his name as they approached the entrance, waving his arm excitedly in greeting. The large man beside him frowned, crossing his arms.

''What about me?'' Jiraiya muttered jealously to himself. Sasuke couldn't hold back a small smirk. He waved back lazily at his friend.

The whole party went to Naruto's home, where Kushina prepared a magnificent feast. It felt surreal to Sasuke to be in the middle of such a happy family; memories of Uchiha gatherings flashed through his mind as he ate Kushina's delicious cooking. It didn't make him sad or jealous though; he simply indulged in it. Kushina was so similar to Naruto (both physically and personality-wise) that he instantly liked her. Naruto's father, Minato, was a calm and quiet man and had an aura of strength that Sasuke couldn't help but respect.

Later that evening, Sasuke accompanied Naruto to the boy's tutoring session with the village leader, along with Minato. There, Sasuke had the displeasure of meeting a new fangirl; he had hoped he would have at least gotten a break from that in this foreign village. Apparently not.

''Wow, who's your friend, Naru-chan?'' Karine, Naruto's cousin, asked with sparkling eyes. The girl's mother sweatdropped embarrassingly, feeling sorry for her nephew's guest.

''Uchiha Sasuke,'' the raven-haired boy muttered, not wanting to be impolite in front of Naruto's family, though he truly wanted to ignore the girl. There was a little surprise in Naruto's aunt eyes before she discarded it for a smile.

''Nice to meet you,'' she said. Karine promptly sat up from her seat beside her mother and sat to Sasuke's right. Minato had no choice but to sit beside his sister-in-law, seeing as Naruto was on Sasuke's left.

''Welcome to our session, Sasuke-kun'' master Hiroto smiled kindly. Sasuke bowed politely and tried his best to pretend Karin didn't exist.

Sasuke understood little to nothing of the tutoring session, which was to be expected. However, he was still surprised how little he knew about sealing, despite his mild interest in the field and his above-average intelligence. Having a sealuser as best friend had motivated Sasuke to do a little research about it. Obviously, Konoha's library could not possibly hold a candle to Uzushio's expertise.

The next day, Naruto had dragged Sasuke out to every corner of the village. In daylight, Sasuke saw how beautiful and _different_ this village was compared to Konoha. The buildings were tall and the overall architecture was very different. It was slick and homogenous (Konoha's was rather chaotic in comparison), which was oddly contrasting with the villagers' costums. The great majority wore kimonos similar to the Uzumaki's and seemed far more superstitious. There were temples in every corner of the village, you could always smell incense wherever you went and they had weird practices. For example, they never eat meat on Sundays for fear of bad luck. Another was putting up seals on the front door after a death in the family to prevent the soul from wandering in the living realm.

Unsurprisingly, Naruto was particularly into those superstitions.

They finished the day off with some long-awaited sparring in one of Uzushio's training fields. As they began to warm up with some katas and exercises, some other Uzushio kids started to gather curiously around them, including Naruto's cousin. Naruto seemed pretty popular among others their age and was recognized as this generation's best fuinjutsu user.

''You were right, Karin-chan,'' whispered Daiyu, one of Karin's closest friends. ''Sasuke-kun's really good-looking, but there's no way he'll beat Naruto-kun.'' Karin nodded proudly.

''Agreed,'' the redhead replied smugly. Uzumakis never lose!

''Ready, Sasuke?'' Naruto asked his partner as they both got into a fighting stance. It was time for this training to get real. They both deactivated their low-level gravity seals for optimal speed. The other smirked and nodded.

The Uchiha was the first to take initiative. Letting as little time as possible for Naruto to think was best; the blond seemed particularly good at coming up with tactics in the heat of the moment, and it would also prevent him from forming seals. Gaining momentum was key when it came to fighting the Uzumaki.

Sasuke had also fought Naruto enough to know his strengths and weaknesses, as well was how those played with Sasuke's own. It had been nearly a year since their last meeting and the clan heir had concentrated almost all of his training solely on Taijutsu and Weapons throwing, the latter which he knew Naruto was lacking in. It was time to turn one of the Uchiha clan's specialties into Naruto's worst nightmare.

Naruto sprinted in panic when he saw the rain of shuriken coming at him. His black haired opponent had barely moved an inch and already he was letting out his full arsenal. With no time to perform a barrier seal, Naruto used a last-second kawarimi to escape the blades by a thin hair. Taking out his kunai, Naruto then quickly swirled around to deflect another wave of flying shurikens.

Karin bit lip nervously, clenching the hem of her kimono sleeves with shaky fingers. She had never seen such fierce and dangerous fighting among other children her age. Weapons were also largely disregarded in the Uzumaki clan because of fuinjutsu. The sight of sharp blades grazing her precious cousin's clothes and skin made her throat tighten uncomfortably. She wasn't sure she liked this brooding Sasuke anymore.

Naruto was unable to escape Sasuke's weapons without several superficial cuts, but he managed to summon many clones in a short break between two waves of Sasuke's shadow shuriken technique. The clones -god bless them- always offered Naruto enough time and distraction to turn tables around.

With a recent technique his mother had taught him, Naruto used the water from a nearby stream to summon a small maelstrom that threw Sasuke and his giant shuriken several feet back. No sooner had he performed the technique had Naruto fallen dramatically to the ground, planting his palms firmly to the ground. Chakra ink snuck out of his hands and formed an intricate pattern around him and a protective barrier came through. He needed a little break and think over a plan to counter Sasuke's weapons.

The Uchiha had seen it coming. A barrier was inevitable at some point or other during the fight. However, Sasuke had long thought about how to counter the jutsu. He knew he did not have the skills to break it, so he'd have to make Naruto break it or come out of it himself. And the answer was a lot simpler than he had imagined at first. If Sasuke's guesses were correct, Naruto's barrier would protect him from getting burnt, but long lasting heat would probably be enough. Hopefully.

Taking in a long, deep breath, Sasuke performed a series of hand signs and performed his all time favourite: the Great Fireball Technique. He poured in all his might and much of his chakra, engulfing Naruto's protected form in huge devilish flames. He had to make two more of them before, finally, Naruto was forced to break out of his barrier and jump away from the flames. Sasuke did not let himself rejoice in the small victory; instead he instantly engaged in intense taijutsu. He needed to spare his chakra for a little while, so more shadow shuriken techniques were out of the question. Still, he was glad his plan had worked; he doubted it would have on an older, more proficient fuinjutsu user with more advanced barriers.

''I can't believe it... this is way beyond academy level...'' Karin's disbelieving friend muttered. Plus, those kids were what, two whole years younger than they were? ''Naruto-kun's having a really hard time keeping up, too.''

Karin, for her part, could only let out a sigh of relief when Naruto had finally come out of the flames unscratched. She looked uncertainly around her to see the equally dumbfounded expressions of the couple of other kids observing the fight. She shifted her gaze back to the boys, frowning worriedly first, then fiercely. She discretely summoned chakra ink from the palm of her hands, ready to jump in if she judged necessary. This was _more_ than a friendly spar; it was pure confrontation and emulation of strength. This rivalry was definitely unhealthy. She shivered uneasily thinking about how it would grow as they get older.

Naruto could always count on his immense reserve of chakra in times like these. What he couldn't achieve with Taijutsu, he could achieve with Ninjutsu and Sealing. He managed to jump away from Sasuke's hit, giving him enough time to take out a scroll from his holster at his waist and release one of his father's offensive wind techniques. Sasuke was sent flying several feet back, which in turn allowed the blond to summon several clones.

Sasuke cursed under his breath and sweat trailed down his forehead. He was panting heavily and he knew he had little chakra left, while Naruto had plenty. The blond also didn't look half as exhausted. Damn his stamina! Sasuke bit his lip, knowing he'd have to deliver his Ace if he wanted to win this fight.

Gathering all of his remaining chakra in his feet, Sasuke sprinted at blinding speed, swiftly evading the clones' incoming attacks. With a rapid somersault, Sasuke threw a handful of kunais which effectively dispelled all of Naurto's copies. Then, with another elaborate jump, he charged Naruto at maximum speed. The blond barely had time to blink his eyes.

With one swift motion, Naruto was harshly pinned to the ground, completely immobile, with a kunai at his throat.

Sasuke was out of breath and had barely any energy left in him, while Naruto could have kept going for a while longer. If he chose to, Naruto could overthrow Sasuke and win this spar. However, had they been in a real, enemy-combat situation, Naruto would be dead. Sasuke had won without the shadow of a doubt. The Uchiha could thank his improved chakra control for that; the speeding technique would have never worked otherwise.

There was a long and heavy silence among all the children in the feild. It was Naruto, unsurprisingly, who broke it first.

''That was awesome,'' Naruto breathed out in wonder, a smile breaking on his features. Sasuke moved back and fell disgracefully on his butt, finally letting himself catch a breath. A few more pants and Sasuke managed to smile back and nod solemnly. He was truly satisfied with the fight they just had.

''Naru-chan!'' Karin's voice broke their gaze and the redhead rushed over to her cousin's side for injuries. There were only minor cuts and bruises, but the Uzumaki continued to fuss over the blond.

''I'm fine, Karin-chan, I swear!''

Two boys from their little audience ran towards Sasuke, assailing the older boy with questions.

''Where are you from? I've never seen you around here.'' The tall and lanky boy asked.

''Which clan do you belong to?'' The shorter one asked. After several well-trained glares and rebuffs, Sasuke manage to shoo the boys away and join the blond and his cousin.

When their eyes met, Sasuke was surprised to see the sharp, suspicious eyes of Karin Uzumaki. Those bright red eyes had been filled with fangirly admiration not twenty four hours prior, and now they were glaring at him with the intensity he never suspected a young girl to have.

Saying the redhead was protective of her blond cousin would be a mighty understatement.

After a quiet and awkward stroll back to the Uzumaki compound -to which Naruto seemed completely oblivious-, Karin managed to corner Sasuke alone while the blond nursed his cuts.

''I see right through you, Uchiha Sasuke,'' Karin said darkly, adjusting her glasses as if to make a point. Sasuke's eyebrows shot high, unsure how he was supposed to interpret or respond to the accusation. The Uchiha's lack of answer encouraged Karin to expend.

''You're using my cousin; Naruto sees you as a friend, but to you, he's just a tool,'' she said, crossing her arms severely over her chest. Sasuke's eyes widened, completely shocked to hear such an unforgiving statement about himself. He was revolted and angry. Naruto was _not_ a tool!

''I'm not using him!'' The boy lost his temper and grabbed the front of the girl's kimono menacingly, daring the Uzumaki to say even one other vile word.

Karin seemed unsurprised by the boy's reaction and merely frowned down at her wrinkled kimono. She looked up again and sharpened her red eyes.

''That's not how friends fight!'' Karin barked, grabbing Sasuke's own front collar as well. ''You're testing yourself on him! You don't care what happens to him!''

''That's not true!'' Sasuke growled back, outraged and hurt at the same time. There was nobody he cared for more than Naruto in this sad, bloody and lonely world. The last thing he wanted was to be told he was like his brother.

''Then you-''

''Karin, stop it!'' Both froze and turned to Naruto's icy voice. Naruto's cold blue eyes looking straight into Karin's burning red ones. Shocked to see the normally gentle blond so angry, the two let go of each other and stared silently.

''Sasuke and I are true friends. We fight the way we do because we _trust_ each other, you know?'' The latter statement was like a bucket of cold water on Karin, and her whole demeanour changed from raging to repentant. Naruto breathed out to calm down as well, then smiled gently -apologetically- at his cousin. ''We both want to become strong; I don't have any friends with whom I learn as much as and push myself as much as with Sasuke.'' He walked closer to Karin and took her hand in his comfortingly. ''And don't worry; we have each other's back, okay?''

Karin stayed sober and quiet for a moment, before nodding slowly. With a brief shared look, Sasuke and Karin came to a truce; they were neither angry nor sorry. Karin still didn't think it was right for them to fight so intensely, but she would believe her cousin's words.

Karin, Sasuke realized, was a typical Uzumaki with an explosive temper and very strict principles. She had quickly forgotten about her silly crush because she cared deeply for her cousin and clearly trusted the blond's judgement almost blindingly. He could learn to respect her for that, at least.

OoOoO

\- - - Konoha: Back to the present - - -

''See you tomorrow!'' Sakura exclaimed, waving the boys goodbye as she ran towards her home. Naruto waved back enthusiastically while Sasuke nodded curtly, hands buried into his pockets as always. Kakashi had just left as well and the sun was setting already. Another day of training and D-ranks passed. The days separating them from the Chunin Exam were becoming fewer and fewer.

''I guess I'll go too,'' Sasuke said nonchalantly, then casually walked away. Naruto watched him go silently for a moment. He knew his friend wouldn't like him thinking that way, but he felt sorry for the boy who always returned to an empty apartment. The blond bit on his lip slightly, hesitating for a split second before steeling his resolve.

''Wait, Sasuke!'' The raven haired boy turned around, an inquiring brow up on his forehead. ''Wanna come over to my place for dinner? Dad's making takoyaki.'' Sasuke often turned down the blond's frequent invitations, but Naruto was nothing if not stubborn.

Sasuke let out a small sigh, knowing too well what the blond was thinking. He looked into hopeful blue eyes and was about to refuse once again, but stopped himself before he uttered a word. He reminded himself of the two-week trip to Uzushio. He couldn't help a fond smile at the memory.

''Alright,'' he said at last, earning a thousand-watt smile from his friend.

''Awesome! Maybe we can ask my dad to train us after dinner too,'' Naruto said, sprinting to catch up to his friend. They walked slowly towards Naruto's apartment.

''That'd be cool,'' Sasuke said, smile still on his face.

And thus both boys enjoyed Minato's more-than-decent takoyaki before getting a small training session from the Yellow Flash. Back at the Uzumakis' home, Sasuke quietly asked Naruto if he could pay his respects to his mother. The blond was truly touched -if his grateful smile was any indicator- and he led him to a small tea room where there was a small shrine against the furthest wall. Freshly lit incense carried a smoky and delicate sent around a portrait of the beautiful Kushina. Scattered across a shelf above the frame were several other photos of other members of the Uzumaki clan. Among them was the young Uzumaki Karin.

Upon Naruto's suggestion, the two climbed up to the roof of the building to indulge in some quiet stargazing. They shared some reflections here and there; sometimes silly, sometimes philosophical. Truthfully, Sasuke didn't want to leave, but the evening would soon turn into night and he had to listen to reason. He got up to his feet, announcing his departure.

''You could stay in our guest room, you know...'' Naruto suggested softly. ''you don't have to go back to-'' Naruto stopped himself, but Sasuke had already guessed; 'to that empty place'. Sasuke pursed his lips together angrily. He was actually angry at himself; he thought he had grown out of the silly loneliness, but seeing his friend all the time like this made him realize how truly alone he felt without his family waiting for him at home. He talked back to his friend harshly without meaning to.

''I don't want your pity,'' he said, looking away from the blond.

''What's wrong with pity?'' Naruto replied, fed up with his friend's pointless pride. It was misguided and it was time Naruto told him so. Sasuke whipped his head back, surprised and if not a little scandalized by what the blond had just said.

''What are you saying, Uzumaki...'' Sasuke said skeptically, sitting back down. Having known Naruto for a while now, he knew better than to be upset with anything Naruto said of the kind. It usually hid a sort of wisdom he never saw in anyone else.

''Pity's what could have kept our families alive...'' Naruto said solemnly, looking straight into Sasuke's obscure pupils. ''The world would be a better place with more pity...'' he said, then added more just to make sure Sasuke understood his point: ''Your brother would have been a better person with more pity in heart. So don't reject it.''

Sasuke clenched his fists tightly, knowing Naruto's words were too true. How many nights had young Sasuke spent crying, wishing the evil man had spared his mother and father, if only out of pity? He closed his eyes and breathed in slowly, deeply, willing his emotions to stay buried deep down where he had hidden them a long time ago.

''Alright, I'll stay.'' Just then, he felt a little relieved.

OoOoO

\- - - Back to Uzushio - - -

''Did you bring what I told you to?'' Naruto asked later that week after a visit to his grandmother's house. She had invited them for a little session of Go. Go was a game somewhat similar to Shogi unique to Uzushio in which the players have to acquire as much territory as possible through strategy and deceit. Sasuke watched Naruto play against his grandmother first while the lady explained the rules to get a sense of the game. Even if he was just getting acquainted with it, something was telling Sasuke that Nadeko was going easy on her grandson.

After Nadeko's inevitable victory, Sasuke told them he felt ready to try it out. Turns out Naruto just plain sucked at Go and the Uchiha kicked his ass twenty minutes into the game. Naruto sulked and pouted angrily at his friend, mumbling stuff about shattered Uzumaki pride and karmic injustice. Naruto knew Sasuke was an A-student, but this was just insulting.

''You're a fast learner,'' Nadeko praised, then suggested they played against each other. The Uzumaki lady still held back her skills, but Sasuke was definitely a talented and intelligent young boy. She was certain he could grow up to be as proficient as her son-in-law if he kept practicing. Naruto kept moping in childish jealousy in his own corner of the room.

Which brought them back to their little stroll. Naruto had finally snapped out of his moodiness and asked Sasuke about the strange request Naruto had made in his invitation letter.

 _-Oh, and bring something that represents something you hate or regret. You'll have to get rid of it though, so think about it carefully!_

Those had been Naruto's words.

The Uchiha compound was full of things he now hated and regretted, because it was full of memories of his brother. A lot of the Uchiha Clan's more trivial belongings had been thrown away or sold to other families, while other more precious objects and memorabilia had been kept safe for Sasuke's inheritance. The lone heir didn't care for much of those things, so there were pleny to choose from. He ended up bringing one of his brother's kunais. It had been a graduating present from their father; a high quality, custom-made weapons kit.

''I did,'' Sasuke said. ''What is it for? You didn't tell me in the letter.'' Naruto replied with a mysterious smile.

''You'll see.''

Soon after the exchange, things started to get agitated in the Uzumaki compound. Naruto informed him that his clan was preparing a ceremony that took place every year in the spring. Spring was highly important for the Uzumaki clan as it symbolizes renewal, youth and life; perhaps they valued it because of their own strong vitality.

By the time all the preparations were done, it was nearly the end of Sasuke's second week in Uzushio. He would miss his friend and the warm feeling of being surrounded by a family, but he had grown to love quietness and solitude. Still, he thought, he would enjoy his last days to the fullest before returning to Konoha.

The evening of the ceremony, Sasuke put on a black kimono with the Uchiha fan at the back and dark grey hakama that he had brought just in case. He knew the Uzumaki clan would be wearing traditional gears, so he wanted to show his respect and dress up to honour the event. He went out of the room and joined his blond friend and his family in the living room, surprised by the sight that awaited him.

Not only were they wearing elaborate traditional clothing, but every visible inch of skin was also covered in strange bold tattoos; seals, to be exact.

''Impressive,'' Sasuke said, looking at his friend.

''They don't do anything other than look cool though,'' Kushina said with a few chuckles. ''Our ancestors wore seals on their bodies to intimidate their enemies. Now they look a bit ridiculous, but apparently it's important for tradition.'' They now wore this ceremonial 'fake' seals as symbolic reminders of their origins.

''What'cha saying, mom? They look so badass!''

''Language, son,'' Minato scolded the smaller blond.

''You've got to admit that he's right, though!'' Jiraiya boasted, laughing heartily. ''Who knows, maybe Nadeko-chan will finally _notice_ me.''

''Not a chance,'' Kushina snorted.

Sasuke smiled at the now familiar scene. Naruto walked over to his friend and placed the tip of his index and middle finger on Sasuke's forehead. The latter blinked curiously but did not protest. The blond closed his eyes for a moment and Sasuke felt warm lines travel all over his skin. Naruto opened his eyes again and grinned proudly.

''Great!'' Kushina clapped her hands excitedly. ''Now we're all ready to go!''

All five of them left the house to join the rest of the members of the Uzumaki clan in the main pavilion of the compound; the one used for special gatherings. Even though the clan was the biggest and most important of the village, it was still only about half the size the Uchiha clan had been. The Uzushio village was so beautiful and prosper that Sasuke often forgot how small it was compared to Konoha.

Lights, paper streamers and other such decorations were in every corner of the pavilion. There was a large table with plenty of snacks and sweets of all kinds as well as some clan members playing the flute for a joyous and fresh ambiance.

Sasuke had never seen so many redheads in one place. At least it would be easy to spot Naruto (and his father) if he got lost.

''We're here!'' Sasuke, Naruto and his family heard a voice call out to them; it was the blond's aunt accompanied by her family.

Karin blushed furiously when she saw Sasuke; now looking even more attractive with the exotic tattoos. She cursed herself for being so weak and turned her eyes stubbornly away. Sasuke rolled his eyes. At least a fangirl in denial would be less invasive, he supposed.

People kept chatting and eating merely until the sun had set completely. Everyone then moved to the inner courtyard at the centre of which stood a tall and imposing black tree. It had no leaves and it looked as good as dead. Sasuke had never seen such a tree before and he wondered at its significance in the clan.

Everyone sat on one of the cushions lining the tile pavement surrounding the garden. Sasuke remembered Naruto telling him about the Uzumaki's more tribal, nomadic roots. He could see how armies of seal-using, face-painted shinobis with blood-red hair outliving everybody could be intimidating. It was a sight to be seen. Now sitting along the walls of the inner courtyard, in complete silence with only the sound of the nearby rivers, it was strangely appeasing. Surreal was best way to describe it.

The clan head rose after a long moment of silence and started painting strange scribbling with red ink onto the tree. Once he had finished, he turned to the members of his clan, looking at each and everyone of them.

''On this day of the Spring Equinox, we celebrate once again the Rebirth of our clan. Exactly two hundred and eighty-four years ago, our ancestor Uzumaki Shagun chose this place to establish her family and other tribes following her leadership. She chose it not only because of the natural protection our great rivers offer, but also because of this tree.''

The clan head made a slow gesture towards the dead black tree.

''She saw in this tree, contrasted with its beautiful surrounding, the burden her followers were carrying. The same night, our ancestor created this ritual as a symbolic purge of what had haunted her tribes since the start of their nomadic days. They were in search of a new life; a fresh start in which they could live in peace, far away from all the wars and deaths they had faced in the Great North, where they came from. Every year, we perpetuate this tradition to grant our ancestor's wish and live a new, peaceful life.''

The clan head walked along the gathering as he continued his speech.

''I know some of you still carry relics from our last war or bare violent wishes for vengeance. I hope this year is the year you can finally cleanse your heart and move on.''

At these words, Sasuke looked down at his lap and frowned. He was starting to have an idea as to why Naruto had asked him to bring something he resented...

''Let the ceremony begin.''

Naruto turned to his friend, his face melting in a worried frown when he saw the raven's irate expression. Perhaps he should have explained the ritual to Sasuke before hand, and he regretted making his friend feel so uneasy, but he had wanted Sasuke's choice to be as unbiased as possible. He took out two paper seals; one for himself and one of the Uchiha. The latter looked down at the papers, expression unchanged. Naruto swallowed thickly, but explained the procedures nonetheless.

''We seal our memento into it and then we place it the tree. Then, we set the tree on fire to expiate our regrets and start anew.''

Sasuke stared silently at his friend; he could tell just from the way the blond had explained it that the ceremony meant a great deal to the clan. It also gave him much insight on its mentality and values. Once again, Sasuke was faced with how different their respective clans were and how strangely mystical the Uzumakis were. He supposed working with symbols all the time had forged rather abstract minds.

He sighed deeply and took out the object he had been asked to bring. He clenched the handle of the kunai tightly, feeling the urge to stab it into his brother's eyes, as he did every time his dark eyes lay on the weapon.

He would go through this ritual, for Naruto's sake, but he knew very well his grudge would not end tonight. He did his best to calm his rising anger, then looked at his friend.

''What do I do?'' Naruto smiled somewhat uneasily to his friend then placed the paper seal in front of him.

''Just place your kunai on it, I'll seal it for you.'' Sasuke did as instructed and watched, emotionless, as the kunai disappeared into the paper. He then watched his friend do the same, mildly curious to see what _he_ could possibly have to seal away. To Sasuke's unexpected bewilderment, Naruto took out a small lock of blond hair.

''Is that... your own hair?'' Naruto smiled and nodded.

''It is,'' he replied, sealing it into the paper. ''That's what I've been giving up for a couple of years now. Every year, I try to become a better ninja and a better person… so I need to let go of parts of me. When I'm being selfish or when I'm negative… that's what I see when I see this,'' he said as he sealed his lock of hair away.

Sasuke was speechless. Selfish and negative was hardly how he would describe Naruto; on the contrary. Sasuke supposed everyone had their moments of weakness –Sasuke knew his own well- but hearing Naruto made the Uchiha realize he never worked on himself or made retrospections the way the blond did. All Sasuke ever cared about was to grow in strength. Having witnessed the blond's family and the clan's philosophy, Sasuke finally understood where Naruto's strange wisdom came from.

The Uchiha didn't know it yet, but he would later suspect Naruto's upbringing was the reason why the blond seemed to deal with his clan's annihilation so much better than Sasuke was.

Speechless, Sasuke followed the blond and his family to the tree where they placed their respective seals. They went back to their seat and once everyone had done the same, the clan head proceeded to set the tree on fire, activating the papers so they would all burn away. The tree underneath remained intact; Sasuke assumed that was what the red ink had been for.

As he watched the flames dancing around the tree, the Uchiha felt a strange sensation in his guts which he simply could not describe. All he knew was that he would remember this day forever.

OoOoO

Back to Naruto's home, the small party sat down at the traditional low-table in the house's tea room. They discussed the beauty of another successful ceremony for a bit before Kushina directed her words to Sasuke more specifically.

''I hope you enjoyed the ceremony, Sasuke-kun, and that it will help you in your healing.''

The black haired boy wasn't sure how to respond to this. The ritual definitely did not have the same depth and signification to him and than for the clan. However, he knew how centuries of tradition and clan beliefs could influence the mind.

''It left a great impression on me... thank you.''

''I'm glad,'' responded Kushina with a familiar smile.

''Who's up for a midnight snack?'' Naruto got up, not intending on waiting for his family's response to go get the treats. He had seen his mom prepare several dishes for a post-ceremony supper. His father chuckled and got up as well to get the plates with his enthusiastic son.

Sasuke blinked then shook his head fondly. He could not believe this was the same Naruto as during the ceremony. He should have gotten used to Naruto's strange personality by now, but Sasuke knew he probably never would.

OoOoO

\- - - Konoha: back to the present - - -

''Sakura's been coming later and later to the meetings...'' Naruto mused during an early Tuesday morning as they waited for their sensei for another day of training. The three genin usually showed up at least an hour before they expected their sensei to show up and would simply spar (mostly Naruto and Sasuke, Sakura usually preferred to watch or do her own exercises).

''She's just smarter than us; she decided she wouldn't waste her time waiting for Kakashi-sensei,'' Sasuke replied nonchalantly.

''Hey!'' Naruto protested, offended his friend thought their spars were a waste of time. ''We're getting some training done, so we-''

''Relax, dobe, I'm just messing with you,'' Sasuke smirked. He always enjoyed seeing Naruto's angry grimaces. The blond's buttons were so easy to push.

''Sorry I'm late again!'' Their attention was brought to the running pink haired girl who was waving enthusiastically at them.

That was when Naruto narrowed his eyes to observe the girl more closely. There seemed to be something different about her...

Sakura joined them and offered the habitual greetings. She blinked when Naruto didn't reply and frowned curiously at the blond's expression.

Sasuke had a pretty good idea what the blond was thinking. It seems the Uzumaki had finally noticed. He resisted the urge to snort; what a slowpoke.

''Sakura-chan... did you gain weight?''

Sasuke's eyes grew the size of dinner plates. He slapped his forehead loudly in disbelief. _What an idiot! How can he be so freakin' stupid?!_ Sasuke watched Sakura fearfully, cold sweat falling down his face, waiting for the inevitable. Sakura was seemingly still in shock because her expression remained unchanged.

Sasuke might not particularly enjoy the company of girls, but he had learned enough to know that this was the day his blond friend would die.

''Oh, you noticed?'' Sakura beamed . She looked down at herself; she supposed her clothes were indeed getting a little tight.

''Yeah, I noticed just now!''

''What the...'' Sasuke muttered to himself, not believing the scene that was unfolding before him.

''You look great!'' Naruto added cheerily, to which the pink haired girl laughed somewhat embarrassingly. ''You look stronger too!''

''You really think so? I started a new diet. I do some workout before and after our meet ups, that's why I've been late. Look!'' She flexed her bicep to prove her point and surely enough, there was a bump that definitely hadn't been there before. ''It's not much, but it's a start.''

''Wow! Keep it up, Sakura-chan!'' The girl scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, then turned to Sasuke.

 _Am I supposed to say something?_ Sasuke wondered apprehensively.

''Uh... yeah. Like Naruto said.'' Sakura's smile went supersize. _Phew, safe._

''Alright children, less flirting, more training!''

''Gah!'' Naruto and Sakura jumped at the sudden appearance of their sensei. Sasuke was just grateful he had rescued him from this awkward situation. He really wasn't made for socializing.

''But before that,'' Kakashi continued, chuckling slightly, ''here are your forms for the chunin exams.'' He handed them the papers. ''I already filled them out for you. We'll do our preparatory training as usual, then I'll let you off for the rest of the afternoon. Most other contestants are arriving today to present themselves to the registrar office. You should do the same and get a feel of what's coming your way,'' Kakashi said with a wink. Was a one-eyed wink still a wink?

''Awesome,'' Naruto cheered somewhat uneasily, looking over his own form. Tomorrow was already the first day of the exams. He had indeed seen some foreigners enter the village for the past few days, though they mostly came from neighbouring villages. Some were from Sand or other villages suspected to have participated in his village's destructions. Many were only twelve year old genins like him... Still, seeing them walking into the village like this was starting to make Naruto feel anxious.

The others noticed the odd tone of the blond's voice. He had been very pumped up about the exams, but now he sounded nervous. Was the importance of the exams finally dawning on him?

Thus, after several hours of rigorous training, team seven set out to go to the Academy, where contestants were expected to go. On their way there, just as Kakashi had said, they saw an unusual amount of foreign ninjas going in the same direction. _Iwa, Suna, Oto... they're all here,_ Naruto thought anxiously, fists clenching tightly.

''Are you alright, Naruto?'' Sakura asked, concerned for her teammate. ''Is it the exam?''

''You could say that,'' replied Naruto, smiling weakly to her pink haired comrade. Sasuke looked around him, then roof tops and other areas.

''Is it me, or are there a lot of Leaf patrols?'' Naruto blinked curiously, then followed Sasuke's gaze. Sakura did the same.

''Isn't it normal, though? It's a big event and some of the villages participating have never signed alliances with Konoha.''

''R-right...'' Naruto nodded in agreement.

''Still seems a little too much for foreign _genins_... I wouldn't be surprised if there were patrols disguised as civilians too.''

Now that Sasuke mentioned it, Naruto realized his father hadn't been sent on missions for a pretty long time. He had also been seeing a lot more inactive jounins than usual in stores and restaurants... it was like none had left Knoha in a while.

Naruto's eyes widened in realization, then he felt an overwhelming sense of relief. He sighed deeply, letting all the pressure out. It seems his father hadn't been making vain reassurance speeches; the Hokage _was_ prepared for anything.

''Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!'' Both his teammates blinked at the sudden shift in behaviour, but followed him all the same.

OoOoO

After easily seeing through the illusion -well, except Naruto; Kakashi and Minato were still working on his pathetic genjutsu skills- team seven joined the rest of the contestants in the waiting room.

''Looks like we'll be able to finish where we had left...'' The trio turned towards the obnoxious voice to see none other than Hyuuga Neji walking towards them. ''That is, if little rookies like you actually make it past the theoretical exam,'' he finished with a smirk.

''You bastard-'' Naruto said through his teeth, clenching his fists. He made a step forward, ready to give the Hyuuga a piece of his mind. He had not forgotten what the genin had said about Juki-chan.

''Naruto,'' Sasuke blocked his blond friend's way with his arm, dark eyes still looking straight at the Hyuuga. That was when the latter finally recognized him. ''You are better than this.''

Naruto turned, wide-eyed, towards his friend, then let the rage dissipate. He looked ashamed and knew his friend was right; his mother would not have wanted him to keep grudges.

''But I'm not,'' Sauke said with a smirk, cracking his knuckles.

''Huh?!'' Sakura and Naruto both exclaimed, watching with mouths gapping as the Uchiha bolted towards the other black haired boy. However, before either genins had time to engage in their fight, a green silhouette flashed between them and stopped their kicks.

''Neji, this isn't your style.'' The green-clad figure let go of the two boys and rose his head up to reveal bowl-cut black hair and a peculiar pair of round eyes. ''You said yourself we should keep a low profile. The exams haven't even started yet and you're picking a fight with fellow leaf companions? I don't think sensei would approve.''

''Tch,'' Sasuke glared at the weirdo who had dared to interrupt his fight. ''No one asked for your opinion.'' The fact that the other genin had done it so effortlessly and so fast -Sasuke hadn't even seen where he had come from- was even more frustrating to the Uchiha.

''I'm sorry for my sudden intrusion, allow me to introduce myself!'' The spandex lover struck a nice-guy pose and flashed his shinning teeth. ''My name is Rock Lee!''

''Here he goes again,'' sighed a newcomer. The girl joined her teammates and sighed irritably at her friend's antics.

''My name's Uzumaki Naruto,'' the blond smiled widely, unsurprisingly receptive to Lee's enthusiasm. ''These are my teammates; Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke.'' He gestured towards his friends. ''That was an awesome move there! You must be strong to stop Sasuke's kick like that!'' Lee was about to answer something humble about hard work, but was beaten to it by his team's weapon user.

''D-did you say... Uzumaki?!'' Naruto blinked once before the girl rushed towards him and grabbed his hands into her own, eyes sparkling with admiration. ''I-it's an honour! I'm Tenten, and I use a lot of sealing- well, basic sealing I mean- with my weapon jutsus. I- well...'' That's when the girl realized she actually didn't have much more to say. She also recalled the blond's tragic story. It sobered her up instantly and she let go of his hands. ''It's an honour, really.''

''Thanks. I don't think I deserve it though,'' Naruto replied kindly, his smile earning a little blush from the brown-haired girl. Sasuke raised an unimpressed brow at that. Seems like the dobe had made a new fangirl.

Neji, for his part, didn't look very happy about how things were turning out. He hadn't realized the Uzumaki's friend was the Uchiha heir. Having two powerful clan heirs in one team was unlike other genin teams he had seen before. He also didn't like how Tenten was regarding the small blond. He would have liked to tell her how there was nothing to get so worked up about. But the truth was... that unfinished match against Naruto had left a bitter taste in his mouth. He hadn't gotten a true sense of the boy's strength and he suspected it was far mightier than what appearances let on.

After almost two hours of waiting, when all the contestants had seemingly arrived, the large group of aspiring chunins was led outside where a sort of stage had been put up. Standing on it were all the proctors of the exam and the Hokage himself.

The Hokage proceeded to welcome all the visitors and delivered a short but inspiring speech about the exam, which was officially starting tomorrow morning. He briefly explained the rules; everyone understood them as: there are no rules and you might die.

Tomorrow at first lights was the theoretical exam which would take place in the same room they had came from. Naruto did not particularly look forward to that part. He now wished he had paid more attention in the academy.

Soon enough, the gathering ended and everyone slowly left the place to go to their respective hotels or home. As they walked on, team seven was stopped by a voice calling for the blond genin.

''Naruto! Is that you?'' The blond blinked and team seven turned towards the voice. Naruto narrowed his eyes, not sure he recognized the figure jogging towards them. Then, as it got closer, blue eyes widened in recognition.

''Temari-chan?!'' The sandy-blond girl finally reached the team and instantly engulfed the smaller bond into a tight hug. ''Wha-''

''I'm so glad you made it! When we found out what had happened, we all thought...'' Temari trailed off, looking at Naruto with open relief. Naruto was a little surprised by Temari's reaction, but if she had stayed the same honest and straightforward girl he had been some years ago, Naruto suspected she had no idea her own village had participated in Uzushio's destruction.

It wasn't wholly surprising either. His father had told him the guilty villages were trying to hide the truth from the outside world. They were probably doing the same to their own younger inhabitants.

''My dad made it too,'' Naruto informed with a forced smile. He liked the girl, there was no doubt about it, but it also made him feel very uncomfortable. ''My mom though...'' He looked down, a sudden overwhelming sadness filling him. Temari trapped him in another tight hug, not knowing what to say.

''These are my teammates; Sasuke and Sakura,'' Naruto said once Temari let go of him. His teammates seemed curious to know what was going on. ''Guys,'' he continued, ''this is Temari. I went to Suna for a little while when I was around seven; I met Temari and her brothers then.''

''Nice to meet you,'' Sakura said politely. Sasuke merely nodded.

''Speaking of them,'' Naruto turned to Temari once ago. ''How are Kankuro and Gaara?'' Temari smiled a little. It didn't look very genuine. It worried Naruto a little.

''Kankuro's the same little prick he's always been,'' she said with a chuckle. ''Gaara's... Gaara was doing great until recently. He barely talks to us and acts like... before.'' She said looking at the blond meaningfully. ''I don't know what happened to make him change like that. I'm worried, to be honest.'' She looked down nervosy, playing absently with her fingers. She looked back up to the blond. ''Maybe seeing you would help. I'm sure he'd be so happy to know you're well.'' It sounded like a request and Naruto was never one let down a friend.

''I'll meet up with you tomorrow morning before the exam, okay?'' Sakura and Sasuke nodded and settle for a time and place, then left.

Temari led Naruto further away from the academy grounds until they reached a deserted training ground where she knew her brothers would be waiting. They were expected to meet up with their sensei for some important strategy he had planned for them. Temari had asked them to wait for her, wanting to look around for traces of Naruto, knowing the Leaf was where he'd be if he had survived. She had expected her younger brother to come along, be he not said a word.

When they reached the Sabaku brothers, Kankuro was the first to react.

''So you were right afterall, sis, '' he said with a small smile. ''I'm glad to see you.'' Kankuro extended his hand, which Naruto gladly shook. They all turned to the redhead, who wasn't even looking at them. His arms were crossed severely over his chest and he looked completely uninterested, if not annoyed.

''How are you... Gaara?'' Naruto asked hesitantly. As soon as he had seen his old friend, Naruto knew Temari hadn't been exaggerating. Gone was the light that Naruto had seen come through now almost six years ago.

Pale green eyes turned, looking emptily at the blond. All three other genins shifted uneasily under the cold stare.

Gaara did not recognize him, Naruto was sure of it.

* * *

Voilà! This chapter wasn't as action-filled as I usually like them to be, but I hope you still found it entertaining. Hopefully, I won't be as slow for the next update.

 **'Til next time!**


	10. Creeping Death I

**Note:** Let mequote what I said in the previous chapter's author's note just so we can all get a good laugh: ''Hopefully, I won't be as slow for the next update.'' What a good joke. Also, this hasn't been proof-read. Bare with me.

Hope you'll still enjoy!

* * *

 **Silver Lining**

 _Creeping Death  
(Part I)_

 _\- - - Land of Waves: Twenty four hours before Uzushio's doom - - -_

''Are all the troops ready?'' Rasa inquired after his General, who had been doing a recap of their plan with each troop captain. With almost all of his active jounins and chunins plus Iwa's lent forces to handle, structure and organization was the key to success. Mistakes could not be allowed, especially with such an enormous gamble.

He had left his village practically empty and defenceless. He had signed a temporary treaty with Iwa so that the Tsuchikage would send another fraction of his own forces to protect his borders. Both the Kazekage and Tsuchikage had a good history of collaboration and alliances. He hoped the man would fill his end of the bargain, though you could never be too sure in the world of shinobi.

But, seeing the state his village was in anyways, it's not like he had anything to lose, nor did the Tsuchikage have anything to gain. They were as good as bankrupt, their land did not provide sufficient crops and the cost of living was rising more and more every semester… This was Rasa's only chance of making a change for the better. He was ready to put everything at risk.

''They are sir,'' his General informed with a respectful, yet somewhat nervous salute. ''We only need your word and we are ready to depart.'' The tension among his ninjas was obvious. His decision to go at war with Uzushio was not applauded by everyone in his village, especially not the plans and methods employed, but they were all as equally desperate as he was to gain back their place and power in the shinobi nations.

Rasa nodded curtly and the General rolled up the detailed Uzushio map which had been drawn by Nagato himself to the best of his memory. It probably wasn't up to date, but it was definitely the most detailed and informative map that could be found about the mysterious village and contained secrets that perhaps even young inhabitants of Uzushio themselves were unaware of.

The Kazekage then moved towards the Akatsuki's tent. Only half of the members were here though; the other half was near Hidden Hot Water village along with Orochimaru's Sound shinobis. Rasa's companies would attack from the South while Orochimaru's would attack from the North. Every gathered ninja, except the Akatsuki, had discarted their native village's clothes and went for the simplest black suit and all wore the same bandana. The plate at the front had the word ''Death'' carved on it. It had been Orochimaru's idea. The Kazekage found it obnoxious, but he could care less about their getup. They could all wear a fucking clown nose, if they wanted to.

Once Rasa reached the tent, he was blocked by the strange masked shinobi he had seen in their last meeting. He did not particularly like the man as he did not seem reliable, but he supposed the man must be strong for him to be kept in the elite group.

''Sorry, Kazekage-san,'' he told the kage nonchalantly. ''no one gets in.''

''What is your leader doing?'' Rasa, trying to keep his unease in check, but the other saw right through him.

''No need to act so suspicious, Kazekage-san; we are rogue nins. You can trust us,'' Tobi added with a mocking laughter. Rasa clenched his fists tightly, gritting his teeth together. He did not like being ridiculed so shamelessly, but he had given up his pride the moment he had decided to associate with them. As long as he got his end of the bargain, they could say all they wanted.

''I just want to make sure your leader will be finished before we leave for Uzushio... if his jutsu isn't ready, this entire operation will be useless.''

''Chill out. Everything will be fine,'' Tobi sighed dramatically, stretching out his numbing limbs. Guarding the entrance was a long a boring task. Why was he always stuck with those?

''Very well, then. Tell him we will wait for his approval, then we will send the bird to Orochimaru's regiment.''

''Roger!'' Tobi straightened up and saluted the Kazekage. The auburn haired man knew better than to treat it as a sign of respect.

 _As long as I get my end of the bargain..._ he repeated to himself, going back to his own people.

OoOoO

''Prepare some more ink,'' Nagato told his comrad. ''It should be the last batch I need.'' Konan nodded and wordlessly grinded the ink stone.

The fabric of the tent was very thick, not letting any daylight in. The only source of light was the several candles scattered in an intricate pattern around the Akatsuki leader, who was sitting at the centre of a sort of pantagram. There was also a bit of incense burning. One could only be awed the mood.

Konan had never seen Nagato use fuinjutsu before. At first, she feared that the man's skills would have become rusty as it had been over a decade since he had been declared Missing In Action by his native village. However, Nagato had assured her that one simply could not forget such teachings.

She put the little pot of ink in front of Nagato before returning to her seat quietly some feet away. She watched emotionlessly as the redhead continued with the slow, repetitive strokes, intrigued by the constant flow of chakra the sickly man was pouring into the ink.

She wasn't sure how long it had all taken, but at length Nagato rolled back the enormous scroll. It was the fourth and last one.

''It is done.''

OoOoO

 _\- - - Meanwhile, in Uzushiogakure - - -_

''Alright, that's it for today, kids. You did well.'' Today had been another day filled with D-ranks for Karin's genin team, who had graduated from the academy now almost two years ago. Perhaps tomorrow they'd get a C-rank, since they hadn't done any in a while.

''See you tomorrow, Otori-sensei!'' Karin waved her sensei goodbye as she left with her two teammates towards their home. It was still fairly early; perhaps they could all spar together before getting some dangos. She promptly suggested it to her friends.

''That's a great idea!'' Daiyu said, then turned to their male teammate. ''You in, Kira-kun?'' The quiet brown haired boy blushed slightly then nodded. ''Classes are almost over at the academy. You think your cousin would like to join us? That way it'd make two pairs.''

''We can always ask,'' Karin smiled.

''Sorry kids, it'll have to be another time.'' All three fourteen-year-olds turned to the familiar voice of Uzumaki Nanami, Karin's mother. ''I need Karin to help me run some errands.'' Karin groaned and walked heavy-footed to her mother. She waved back slowly to her friends, making sure her sulking face was very obvious. Nanami rolled her eyes at her daughters' antics and dragged her by the collar to the market place.

On their way there, they stumbled upon a very pregnant Risa who seemed to be coming back from a day's work at the academy. Nanami greeted her politely then proceeded to scold her about working herself too hard so late into her pregnancy.

''Calm down, Nanami-chan,'' Risa chuckled. ''I'm only due in seven weeks. Beside, it's not like my work's that demanding... especially since I started showing. My students have never been so well-behaved. I think the belly intimidates them.'' Nanami couldn't help but laugh out loud. Their conversation kept on lightly like this, until they started talking about the birth and the absent father.

''Does he even know?'' The older Uzumaki asked. Risa shook her head.

''He doesn't and it's better this way.'' Nanami sighed deeply.

''He deserves to know, Risa... I know you guys broke up a while ago, but I know for a fact that you still love each other.''

''You know as well as I do that our love was never the issue,'' Risa looked down at her stomach with a pained expression. ''Our future together would just never have worked, especially with a baby in the equation.'' Karin blinked curiously, unaware of all that was going on in her old academy teacher's life.

''His clan would never allow him to move to another village. Those damn Hyuugas are so protective of their precious little Byakugan. And how would I be treated over there? He's only a branch member. Our daughter would be doomed to wear the Caged Bird seal, and that's out of the question. Even if I can destroy it, for all I know, the Hyuugas could accuse me of treason and where would that lead us? If Tokuma finds out about my pregnancy, so will the main family, one way or another, and they'll hunt me down until I submit to their will.'' Nanami snorted mockingly at that.

''Like we would let them,'' she said through her teeth.

''Exactly,'' Risa replied. ''Clan tensions, conflicts, and who knows...'' She shivered just thinking about it. ''No, things are better off this way.''

Nanami sighed sadly and put a comforting hand on her distant cousin's shoulder. It pained her to see Risa so sad. She and Tokuma had been a perfect match. They completed each other and shared a chemistry she had rarely seen in others. To think Risa had to give it up, and to think the little girl would be deprived of her father's love. It was truly tragic.

''I understand and respect your decision, Risa,'' Nanami said solemnly. ''But I know you... I know you will regret it for the rest of your life if you do not tell him. The guilt of not having tried anything... it will eat you away.''

Risa looked down, gritting her teeth together, trying not to let her tears gather up in her eyes. Damn those hormones were making her so much more sensitive.

''I know... but what can I do?''

''Talk to Hiroto-sama. I am sure he and the Hokage would be able to negotiate some kind of arrangement. There has to be away...''

Risa stayed quiet. She had thought about it, of course, but Risa had been with a Hyuuga for some years and had gotten well-acquainted with the clan's mentality. She doubted any arrangement could be done that wouldn't be detrimental to her daughter. Still, Risa had to admit Nanami was right. The guilt _would_ eat her away...

''I'll think about it.''

OoOoO

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows closely together as tied up the woollen string for the finishing touch. He had never been very talented with things like gift-wrapping, but this was an occasion that called for care and attention to details. He looked at the small package all over and, giving it an approving nod, took it in his hands and got up from the floor. Just as he did, his mom called out to him.

''Naruto! Come down, dinner's ready!''

''Coming!'' Naruto grinned at the gift one more time and rushed downstairs to the dinning room.

Before entering it, the small blond hid the present behind his back. He couldn't help the praise that came out at the sight of the meal. The table was filled with delectable-looking home-made sushi, all disposed elegantly on plates assorted with all sorts of edible decorations.

''Wow, what a feast!'' Naruto exclaimed, mouth already watering. Then, playing the innocent, he threw a clueless look at his parents. ''Are we celebrating something?''

Kushina, who had just finished washing her hands, sat down at her usual spot at the table and snorted at her only son. She looked pointedly where she could see the corner of a package with a flower-printed wrapping paper. Minato, who was sitting at his wife's right at the corner of the table, followed her gaze. He smiled at his son.

''Looks like we are,'' the older blond said. Naruto blinked and looked down behind him. He laughed a little and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

''Might as well give it to you now!'' He quickly sat beside his mother and handed them the package with a huge smile. ''Happy anniversary!''

''Thanks honey,'' Kushina replied as she took the present. She waited for Minato's approving nod and unwrapped the present.

A soft smiled melted on her features and her heart fluttered pleasantly.

''Oh Naruto...'' She turned the present around so her husband could have a better look. ''Look at this!''

It was a frame with a montage of three different pictures of them; one of their wedding, one with the two of them when Kushina was pregnant and a more recent picture during their little camping trip in the mountains. All around the pictures in the white spaces were little messages handwritten by different members of their close family. At the top was Naruto's own; a simple ''Best parents ever!'' that was both so _Naruto_ and so heart-warming for the couple.

Kushina and Minato engulfed their son in a bone crushing hug.

''Fifteen years already,'' Minato mused, gently taking his wife's hand into his.

''And many more to come,'' Kushina replied tenderly, closing the gap between them.

Naruto allowed them to kiss without complaint, though only because it was their special day.

''Alright, let's dig in, now!'' The redhead cheered, taking her chopsticks into her hands.

''Yeah!''

OoOoO

 _\- - - The next day, mid-afternoon, outside of Uzushio - - -_

Several kilometres away from the village were gathered the enemy forces, separated at the southern and northern extremities. The troops were geared and ready to attack at their superior's order.

Nagato was standing at the forefront with the other major figures of the attack along with half of his Paths. The other half was with the rest of the attacking army along with a few other members of the Akatsuki. He and three other Paths were each holding one of the gigantic scrolls he had prepared carefully. It was time for a last briefing on how things would work out.

''This sealing technique -or rather, anti-sealing technique- is extremely complex and demanding. It requires perfect timing and flawless mastery of fuinjutsu and chakra control. I'll need all of my Paths just to activate and maintain it while you begin the invasion,'' he said solemnly, his face nearly entirely hidden by the signature Akatsuki sugegasa hat. ''It will not only keep Uzushio from activating their massive barrier, it will unable all fuinjutsu masters from using their sealing techniques. It will not, however, deactivate seals that were already in function before I perform it. You must keep that in mind; it's imperative.''

The Kazekage and all commanding officers nodded once, the weight of what was to come becoming heavier by the minute. Rasa found it more than impressive that such a powerful technique existed, but from the little he knew of the fearsome Akatsuki leader, he had not trouble believing it.

''I'll have myself and three paths activate the jutsu. The other three will protect the ones performing it while Connan stays with me. When keeping the technique active, we will literally be unable to do anything. Our concentration must be absolute. A slipt second misguided and the technique is over. That is why you must be the quickest when entering the village. If Uzushio activates its barrier, no one else will come in.''

There was a heavy silence. The Kazekage realized that the success of this invasion rested entirely on Pain's shoulders.

''The technique is extremely draining, so once I can no longer hold it, I'll have to dissipate at least three of my Paths to keep going. I'll need more chakra to handle the Kyuubi later, so don't count of me too much for the war efforts. The others are there for that.''

Nagato turned to the Kazekage.

''Have you placed the seals I gave you on each of your soldiers?''

''I have. Orochimaru told me through one of his summons he did the same.'' Once again, Rasa was faced with the immensity of fuinjutsu's power and versatility. The seal Pain just mentioned would activate upon the soldier's death automatically, destroying the body instantly without leaving a trace of its existence. There would be no need to 'clean up' and to further hide the instigators of the attack.

Pain gave a quick nod to his Paths and Conan. ''It is time for us to go. You can wait exactly half an hour starting now. Then... you charge as fast as you can.''

OoOoO

 _\- - - In Uzushio's ninja academy - - -_

Risa walked slowly along the pairs of sparring students, smiling approvingly at their performance. It was a full-on taijutsu spar with blunt weapons allowed. She was particularly proud of this cohort. She walked until she reached Naruto. She would never admit it aloud as it was unprofessional, but the little blond was her favourite student. The kindest child she had seen in all her career and a true heir to the Uzumaki-style fuinjutsu. Though, as she watched him fight with a fellow classmate, it was clear that the blond was influenced by his father's Konoha fighting-style. A great hybrid, she had to admit.

Naruto won the spar, and the two boys called for a break. When he noticed his sensei's presence, he sprinted towards her and smiled that wide goofy smile of his.

''How was that, Risa-sensei?''

''Not bad,'' she replied with smirk. Naruto, now long used to his teacher's teasing, stuck out his tongue playfully. She ruffled his hair then called out to the rest of the group to form new teams. She decided to spice the exercise up a bit and put two against one. The students whined loudly, causing a vein to pop angrily on her forehead.

''Missions won't be as easy as academy exercises, and those weapons certainly won't be blunt! Alright, here's how we're going to do it: Mika, you'll be up against Hideo and Akemi. Daiki, you'll fight against Akane and Haru. Naruto, you'll-''

Loud, resounding Taiko drums thundered through the air in a simple but powerful rythm that made Risa's heart stop, leap, then beat rapidly all in a split second. It was a war anthem that had not been heard since Uzushio's last infamous siege.

The students' confused and terrified eyes found their teacher's own sharp ones. Risa willed herself to stay focused despite her own surprise and confusion and lost not time in getting her group into formation that had been dutifully rehearsed every year.

''This is not a drill,'' she said gravely. ''Stay calm and follow me.'' The children were indeed calm, though Risa suspected it was rather because they were petrified into silence.

The group rushed into the school and they made their way towards the great hall where all the other groups would meet. However, as they walked along the hallways, Risa began to sweat nervously when she saw that no barrier had been pulled up around the building yet. Normally, it would have been activated by the school principal as soon as the drums had rolled. There was no way the experienced ninja would have forgotten under the pressure of the event. She threw a quick look to a window on her right and could not stop the loud gasp that escaped her trembling lips.

Naurto's wide eyes, along with the rest of the children's, followed the redhead's gaze. The blond's stomach twisted grimly. He had never seen Uzushio's famous barrier, but he had studied it well enough to know it wasn't supposed to have this onimous red hue to it.

The almighty Barrier had somehow been altered by the unknown enemy.

Distant battle sounds and explosions could be heard, and that was Risa's wake up call. If the school's own protection had been neglected, she'd simply have to take care of it herself.

She began an incredibly fast and complex combination of hand signs then slapped her palms to the ground.

Nothing happened.

The chakra-ink she had built up simply wouldn't come out. She started again, cursing furiously though her teeth.

Still nothing.

Her heartbeat went off the roof and the adrenaline-fuelled composure she had built slowly began to leave her.

She was pregnant, had twenty five students under her care and mysteriously could not use fuinjutsu.

''Let's hurry,'' she turned towards her students and rushed them through the corridors of the academy. They had been the only group training outside. She cursed her ill timing. All the other groups were probably already in the great hall, which made her own class more vulnerable to potential attacks.

And indeed, they had barely reached the end of the hallway they were in before three large silhouettes crashed through the window and landed only a few feet in front of the pregnant sensei.

Naruto would never forget that particular moment when his fear first materialized in front of him. The three enemy shinobis in front of him were tall, muscular and wore all black. All he could see of their face were their cruel, thin eyes. Their weapons were dripping in blood and their ragged breathing let them know they were hungry for more kills. On their forehead protector, rather than a village affiliation, was the kanji for ''Death''.

Risa had a choice to make and she made it quick. She took out the blunt weapons she had in hand and charged the enemies at blinding speed. Naruto, the most reckless and courageous of her group, soon woke out of his stupor and rushed behind his teacher.

''Stay back, Naruto!'' Risa barked as she blocked a deadly blade then kicked another enemy into the nearest room, sending him flying until he hit the wall with a loud crash. ''Bring the group to the Hall and listen to the teachers there!''

''But-'' Naruto weakly protested. Some of the students in the group began to run towards the hall, not bothering to wait for the rest, while the others stayed petrified in place.

''Now!'' Risa screamed, then groaned in pain when one of the three enemies managed to plant a kunai deep into her arm. She did not let the pain slow her down, though, and quickly delivered another powerful kick.

Naruto's eyes filled with tears, but he did as he was told. He urged the terrified students to follow him. He started running towards the room, but one of the invading enemies rushed after them.

Naruto quickly made his way to the front of the group and pulled out his own blunt kunais. Some of his classmates who had finally shaken themselves out of their frozen state followed his lead and threw their weapons at the dark figure. The stranger used a simple kawarimi to dismiss the attack and was about to charge again when another blunt kunai -this time thrown by Risa- pierced through his ankle, making him fall face-first to the wooden floor.

The children did not waste a second and continued their race.

The fallen figure got up with a angry growl and was meant to run after the group, but was interrupted by the leader of his squad.

''Let the kids go. They'll be easy enough to kill after. Let's take care of their little sensei first,'' the tallest of the three said with a low chuckle, dark eyes locked on the redhead's own furious ones.

Risa clenched her weapons tightly, and calculated her next moves. Beating those three assholes up would have been easy with her fuinjutsu... however, she could not let her heavy handicap get in her way. She had the lives of precious children to protect, including that of the unborn child inside of her.

''Burn in hell.'' She charged.

OoOoO

Minato's anxiety was rising with each passing second. He knocked out every enemy on his way towards the academy, but it seemed every time he made a step forward, he had to take three back when other invaders came his way. He punched, kicked, threw shurikens, used his rasengan, and made every single one he met eat dust. Still, he could not use his Hirashin -or any other Fuin technique- which meant he couldn't teleport to his son. He looked distantly towards the academy as he kept his firm, deadly grip on an enemy's neck. He was still near his home, which was in the Northest part of the island, while the academy was at the south extremity of it. He couldn't possibly be further from his son. His wife, from what he could guess, was probably somewhere around the mission office where he knew she had a meeting. He hoped his wife could get to their son faster, but with the overwhelming number of enemies coming in -and it only kept increasing- he doubt she was making any more progress than he was.

He felt bones crush under his fingers, then let the limp figure fall with a loud thud on the ground. He felt yet another shinobi charging at him from the back. He turned swiftly around, dodging the earth jutsu with practiced ease, then charged forward to plant one of his special kunai right into the man's eye, slicing through his skull.

He might not be able to use his infamous Flying Thunder God technique, but that didn't make him any less the deadly ninja he was.

Minato managed to run a few dozen metres, jumping from one roof top to the other, but was stopped yet again by another assault. A fellow Uzushio-nin joined him, making it easier for Minato to analyze his surrounding.

That's when he noticed four massive columns of red light on all cardinal extremities of the island. He narrowed his eyes calculatingly. The ominous chakra flow that escaped from them was the same that was tainting Uzushio's barrier. It was very likely that this unknown jutsu was what was turning Uzushio's protective barrier into an anti-fuinjutsu zone.

Uzushio without it's fuinjutsu was bound to fall. If he could take down that jutsu, his village would not only have a better chance of surviving this, but he would be able to find his son and wife instantly. It was a gamble, but at the rate things were going, he'd never make it to the academy in time. One of the massive columns was very close by, so it was worth a shot.

He helped his comrade defeat the two invading shinobi facing them, then raced as fast as he could towards the strange jutsu, disposing of the opposing forces crossing his path as swiftly as he could.

He managed to make it to the outside forest rather rapidly and there the enemies were scarce. He ran towards the flow of chakra. He was able to make out two dark figures from the distance; one sitting in front of a giant scroll from which the red light came from, and another standing near protectively.

 _The Akatsuki!_ He recognized the cloaks instantly, but could unfortunately not identify them because of the kasa hat with the paper strips they were wearing. This sudden attack on his village was becoming even more perilous. If they managed to get a hold on the Kyuubi, they were done for. Still there was hope. He could see that this seemingly formidable anti-fuin jutsu had one _major_ weakness: it had to be performed _within_ the barrier, rather than out, which meant he could indeed deactivate it.

He summoned his Rasengan, hoping to surprise the two members of the Akatsuki and get the upper hand. However, the guard had apparently noticed him as a counter attack was launched before his rasengan could reach his target. A large paper wall had risen, engulfing the rasengan and neutralizing its power.

Minato landed on his feet, kunai in hand, several feet away. He stared calculatingly at his opponent. At least, he now knew who he was facing. There was only one member of the Akatsuki who could manipulate paper in such a way, and that was one of Ame's missing nin, Konan. His cold blue eyes then fell on the immobile figure sitting by the scroll. The man had not moved even an inch and stayed completely focused on his jutsu – _fuinjutsu, of course,_ Minato thought. He now also knew that the second member would not join in the fight; doing so would probably deactivate the jutsu. _That makes things easier for me; I don't plan on staying here too long._

Konan used her high origami again and launched several paper shuriken at him. Minato deflected them all and jumped high over the branches to land in front of her. He meant to engage her in taijutsu -he knew it to be one of her weaknesses from Jiraiya-sensei's files- but Konan hurried out of his reach before he could land a hit. The woman was probably aware she could not match him in close-range combat and was avoiding it at all cost. Minato bit his cheek in annoyance. If only he had his Fuin's speed.

Konan threw a Tsunami of razor-sharp paper weapons at him and Minato flung in the air away from the deadly wave. He ended up hiding in the surrounding trees behind one of the large trunks. He summoned a shadow clone, both of them holding a rasengan in their hand. His clone nodded in understanding and stealthily jumped from branch to branch until he suddenly charged at the blue-haired nin. The later managed to block the attack once again, but realized only too late that it was only a diversion. She turned around, barely succeeding in avoiding the deadly rasengan. Although it had not touched her, it had been close enough for the residual chakra to leave a nasty bruise and even rip some fabric and skin off on her right ribs. Konan swallowed in a pained moan, not wanting to alarm Nagato, but the redhead could see everything, despite being focused on his technique.

Minato did not fail to see the other akatsuki member's shoulder tense. He narrowed his eyes at that. Obviously, that other member cared about Konan. If he could keep up with this fight a little longer, he might be able to make the other lose his focus. He wouldn't have to use up all of his chakra and stamina on this fight; he needed to save those as much as he could to protect his family.

Konan panted and felt cold sweat trail down her forehead as she braced herself for what was to come. She knew enough about that infamous Yellow Flash to understand that this wasn't going to be easy. However, with that strange new gleam burning in his sharp blue eyes, she feared the man had not even showed her half of what he was capable of doing.

The fight kept on like this for what seemed like an eternity. Konan was using up much more Chakra than she intended to block and avoid the blond's attacks and yet, it still looked like the Uzu nin was holding back. She could feel herself decreasing in speed, and her light wound was turning into a bigger hindrance with each passing second, as it was getting worse with all the straining and brusque movements. It was only a question of time before Minato go the upper hand. Glancing quickly towards her teammate, she could tell Nagato was trying vary hard to stay concentrated on his duty. She could not allow herself to be a burden and have Nagato stop his technique for her sake. This had to-

''This has to stop,'' Minato said solemnly, looking sharply at her. ''I don't care if it costs my own life. I won't let you destroy this village.'' His voice caused shivers down her whole spine. The Uzu nin began a series of complex hand signs, and Konan knew he would not be holding back anymore.

Nagato's eyes widened when he recognized the signs and dread what was coming. Konan would never-!

And that's all it took.

Minato hadn't even finished the first half of signs when Nagato broke his technique, probably meaning to interfere with his fight. He felt a warm sense of relief, knowing this sensation meant he could finally use fuin again.

Nagato had not even lifted up a finger and Minato was gone in a yellow flash.

Both Akatsuki members were left slightly dumbfounded, not quite certain of what had just happened. Then, after a short moment, Nagato sighed and rose to join his injured friend.

''That man is dangerous.'' Nagato had fallen right into the blond man's trap. From the barely visible body language Nagato had shown, Minato had understood that he would not have let Konan die; he had understood that she was his weakness and that it would cloud his judgment. The blond man had then stretched the battle to so the rising tension would blur Nagato's judgement. And so, when Uzu-nin had begun that deadly technique –a technique that would have taken down both him and Konan- Nagato had let his instincts get the better of him and he broke the technique to jump in.

But Minato had never intended to use it.

He should have known. He should read through the facade, but he hadn't. It was obvious now that Minato's reputation hadn't been earned solely because of his powerful jutsus.

Konan, who had also by now understood Minato's true intentions, sighed deeply in shame.

''We hadn't planned for the barrier to fall so early...'' Nagato put a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder.

''It's fine. All our forces have probably entered by now. Breaking the barrier earlier also means I have much more chakra left to deal with the Kyuubi, which was our primary purpose here.''

OoOoO

Naruto fixed the great hall's main door, anxiously waiting for his sensei to some in. The students and teachers in the room were all silent, with the children gathered in the middle and the teachers surrounding them, all ready to fight if enemies decided to show up. Naruto continued to stare at the door.

''D-do you think she's alright?'' Akane's voice was shaky and so soft that Naruto barely heard her. Naruto clenched his fists tightly, taking a deep calming breath.

''There's only one way to find out.''

The small Uzumaki girl blinked in confusion. She was about to ask what her cousin meant, but Naruto spared her the trouble. Instead, he acted, like he always did. He walked slowly towards the teacher who was the closest to the door, while discretely reaching for his back pouch.

''Sensei…''

''Stay back, Naruto-kun,'' the Uzu-nin said calmly, ''Keep your position in case-''

The man could not finish his sentence; Naruto had reached out for a small gas bomb and had used it to cover his escape. The few people around coughed heavily, eyes stinging from the gas. Naruto's guilt for inflicting this to his comrades at a time like this was overruled by his concern for his sensei. He knew the guarding senseis would never had let him get out of the room, and no sensei would have left the room either, since the children's safety was their priority. He understood all this, but Naruto was nothing if not a stubborn child. He had made sure the gas would dissipate quickly and would therefore not endanger the people affected by it. He just hoped no guarding sensei would come after him.

To avoid any pursuit, Naruto sped carelessly through the halls. It was luck, perhaps, that kept him from any encounter with the enemy. Once he was certain he was far enough, Naruto finally slowed down and started paying more attention to his surroundings. As he got closer to where they had left their sensei, he heard the faint sounds of metal clashing together. This gave him hope and he sped again to come to his sensei's aid. There, he hid behind an open classroom door in which the fighting was taking place. Through the tiny crack of the near the hinges, he indeed saw Risa sill holding up –though barely so- against the three enemies. One of them seemed badly injured, but was still very much a hindrance.

Naruto decided to go for that one, seeing as he had much better chances of making a real difference there. He also apparently had excellent timing, as said injured shinobi was now trying to attack Risa from behind while the two others distracted her. As tired as she seemed, Naruto doubted she had sensed him. He took out bolas from his pouch and threw them right around the nin's calves, making him fall to the ground. He then jumped right into the room and knock out the injured enemy for good with a good –and satisfying- kick to the head.

Risa had miraculously managed to keep her focus on the two others she was fighting. Then, both parties stepped back, taking in the new turn of events and recalculating their strategies.

''God damn it, Naruto!'' Risa chocked out, feeling all sorts of emotions rise up to her eyes and threatening to fall into tears. She was moved by Naruto's foolishly loyal and righteous nature and so unsurprised to see him come back for her… but she was no less angry and desperate. She would not let herself die without making sure the boy was back to safety. If only she was not pregnant…

''Now it's two against two, you cowards!''

The enemy ninjas were shocked to see such a small boy have such nerves and foolish enough to think he could help the pregnant uzu-nin. They both snorted, easily dismissing the ridiculous situation. They could not be beaten by a stupid child and a pregnant woman. They braced themselves and prepared to charge.

Risa narrowed her eyes. She could tell the opposing enemies were underestimating her and her pupil, despite the fact that their teammate had been taken down. That was the mistake she was hoping they would make.

''Naruto, don't let yourself be a target.''

He understood what she meant instantly. Bringing his fingers into a familiar cross sign, Naruto summoned five shadow clones. As Risa expected, the two enemies split and one of them went directly for Naruto. The invading nin was shocked to see that even a child as young as Naruto could perform such a high-level jutsu. Risa herself had used it many times earlier –much less surprising for a jounin of her calibre- but it was clear that the opposing forces had not been briefed in details on what Uzushio nins –or more specifically, the children- could do. Risa decided not to use it anymore though. Her pregnancy –especially at this late stage- was using up a lot of chakra and she dearly wanted to save what she had left for _that_ jutsu. She would not let herself spend this precious reserve of chakra unless it was to save Naruto's or her unborn child's life.

While Naruto effectively made his opponent run around like a headless chicken, Risa engaged the other in taijutsu again. As she expected, Naruto sent two more clones out to help her. Still, as talented as Naruto was and as experienced as she was, a child and pregnant sensei could not hope to defeat the enemies so easily, especially without fuinjutsu.

At length, Risa was able to lend a fatal blow to the enemy's stomach with her kunai, but her own exhaustion also got the better of her and her opponent retaliated with his dying breath. A sharp blade sliced deeply into her leg, blood spilling profusely. She fell to the ground, pressing her hands down hard against the wound.

''Risa-Sensei!''

Naruto panicked and let himself be distracted. He was grateful that one of his clones was in the way of his opponent's attack, because otherwise his him and his sensei would have been down.

''Damn it!'' The enemy cursed loudly at the sight of his dead teammate. He couldn't believe his two partners had been taken down by the ridiculous duo in front of him. He now understood much better the purpose of this mission. ''You monsters…''

The enemy growled deeply, eyes burning with rage. He'd finish the fucking runt off, then he'd-

He froze when he saw the little boy's expression. He pursed his lips together tightly. Rather than being scared or devastated, the kid only seemed more determined to defeat him. He had never seen such a young child with a will so strong.

''You're gonna pay,'' Naruto seethed through his teeth. He brought his fingers into a cross and summoned a whole twenty clones more. Cold sweat dripped along the enemy's temple. Just how much chakra did those freaks have? With a slightly trembling hand, the invading nin grabbed a bunch of shuriken from his pouch and braced himself for the kid's next move.

Naruto felt transported. It was like the gravity of the situation was finally sinking in. His village was being invaded. His sensei was perhaps mortally injured. He had no news of his family… He could not afford to waste more time with the filthy human being in front of him. Whatever was holding him back before completely vanished. This was war; he had to fight with the intent to kill.

Kill or be killed.

All clones charged at once, some operating as decoys and others sacrifices to misdirect or absorb the enemy's shurikens. One of the clones managed to get a hold of the black ninja's legs and made him fall flat to the ground. The remaining clones wasted no time and seized his arms. Six of them were now keeping the vile man down, completely powerless and immobile.

''L-Let go of me, you piece of shit! I'm gonna fucking-'' Naruto punched him square in the jaw. He had hit so hard, the cracking sound left no doubt that he had broken bones; perhaps even some of his own joints. With his left hand, Naruto held the man's face down while the right one reached for a kunai.

His felt his composure leave him for a bit; hesitation perceptible in the slightly trembling of his hands. He threw a slight glance at his sensei; she was frighteningly pale and the pool of blood was slowly growing around her. He looked back down at the invader's eyes. They were full of hate and cruelty.

Naruto tightened his grip on his weapon and slit right across the man's neck.

He jumped back instantly, as if touching something burning hot, and dispelled his clones. He was shaking all over. He refused to let himself look at the body. He had not just done that. He had not just killed a man.

He rushed towards his sensei, knelt beside her and silently helped her tend her wounds.

Risa watched the suddenly meek boy, grieved.

''W-what should I do? How do I help?'' The blond's voice was heartbreaking. She could feel herself slowly drift away towards unconsciousness. Her will was too strong to let herself be taken though; with Naruto's help, she could still save her child.

''Remember that healing jutsu I showed last week?'' Naruto nodded weakly but admitted he did not remember the hand signs. So, with her guidance, Naruto performed the jutsu. She could finally let go of the wound.

With shaky, blood-dripping hands, Risa untied her forehead protector and gave it to Naruto.

''B-but Sensei-'' Naruto could not continue; tears were falling freely down his cheeks and if he tried to utter another word, he would only end up bursting into heavy sobs. His sensei motioned him to come closer and she put her hands on each sides of his head. She leaned in until their foreheads were touching. Naruto felt soothing warmth invade him. His throat was so tight from trying not to break down.

Suddenly, a strange sensation, like an unexpected gust of wind, came to them. They knew, just then, that fuinjustu had been restored at long last.

And in the exact same instant, Minato appeared.

''Naruto!'' The tall blond engulfed his child tightly into his arms, beyond relieved that his only son was safe and sound.

''Dad!'' Naruto cried, clutching his arms tightly around his father.

Risa felt the weight on her shoulders leave her completely. Nauto was safe now, and with fuinjutsu restored, she could perform her jutsu without fear or guilt.

''W-we have to help sensei, dad!'' Naruto said frantically through his tears. ''She's gonna-''

Minato looked at Risa, taking in the state she was in. A grim expression settled on his features. Both jounins only needed a look to know how this would end. Both nodded; a silent agreement and a silent farewell.

''Risa-san is strong, she will be safe here until I can get a medic to come look at her. But for now, I need to bring you somewhere out of danger.''

''But-''

''Don't worry, Naruto,'' Risa whispered weakly, ''You closed my wound, so I'll be fine.''

Deep inside, Naruto knew it was a lie; he had always been able to tell when people were lying… but right now, it seemed there were a lot of things he simply refused to acknowledge.

''I'm proud of you, Naruto,'' these were Risa's parting words. Minato rose to his feet, Naruto still in his protective arms. The two jounins exchanged a last look, before the blond left the room.

Risa took a deep breath, did a complex series of hand signs, then softly touched her round stomach.

OoOoO

''Go kill some other Uzushio nins,'' Rasa ordered his men. ''Leave this one to me.''

His men nodded and left the room.

His squad had entered Uzushio's war headquarters. Most of his men were fighting off the few subordinates who were not out to battle, while he stood in front of the man he had wanted to kill for a long time now.

Uzumaki Hiroto.

The village's very own leader. A man over twice his age of awe-striking wisdom and with a long history of exploits in the ninja arts.

With this fight, he would destroy Uzushio's very pride and strength.

Gold dust menacingly gathered around him. Hiroto's eyes sharpened in recognition, but he seemed otherwise unfazed. This only angered the kazekage further.

''No matter how much you fight,'' Hiroto said calmly, taking his own defensive posture, ''my clan will never fade away. We are too strong; and you know it. That is why you're here, desperately trying to destroy it.''

''You are delusional,'' Rasa said harshly through his teeth.

''And so are you, if you actually believe you are strong enough to defeat me.''

Rasa gritted his teeth, irritation taking the better of him much quicker than usual. The last several months –years- of preparation for this moment had been hard on him. And now, his fateful moment had come.

There was no use in hiding his face any longer, so the kazekage took off his mask. The gold dust got more agitated and the dark lines around Rasa's eyes got bolder. His eyes sharpened when his saw Hiroto taking off his gloves and tossing them to the side. He had to avoid contact with the Uzumaki's skin at all cost, or else his chakra would get sucked in. With his dust and fuinjutsu being blocked though, he had no doubt about his victory.

Hiroto was the first to attack with a sudden water jutsu aiming straight at the Kazekage. The latter smirked and let a wall of gold dust form in front of him, easily cancelling the offensive justu. When the wall cleared, however, Hiroto had was nowhere in sight.

Rasa turned around quickly, bracing himself for a surprise attack from behind, but none came. His eyes widened in panic. Had the jutsu not been a diversion?

''Damn!'' Rasa cursed when he felt Hiroto's palm grazing the back of his neck. Fortunately, his dust –which responded with the speed of his mind- was quick enough to react and grab the old man's right hand in a deadly grip. He had been to concerned with avoiding skin contact though, and did not see the Uzushio leader holding a long kunai in his left hand, which drew deep into the side of his torso.

Rasa growled lowly, angry and in pain. The gold dust wrapped itself completely around the old man and squeezed- squeezed-

But nothing. No blood, no bones.

Rasa stared as the sand cleared. Hiroto was standing in front of him, in the exact same spot before the start of his fight. His arms were neatly hidden in his large black sleeve. The man had not moved since the water jutsu.

''A mind in a state such as yours is easily fooled,'' Hiroto said simply.

 _Genjutsu_?! Rasa thought, information flowing a thousand miles an hour. _No, a gentsuju wouldn't injure me like this._ It had been both a genjutsu and a shadow clone thrown into the mix, most likely. Hiroto's plans had always more than one layer. Rasa would have to adjust to this sort of tactic quickly.

Rasa's anger burned fiercely. He summoned two sand clones and charged right at his opponent; he'd tire the old man out and keep him from forming his plans. No matter how resourceful he was, Hiroto was still an old man after all.

Hiroto entered into the Kazekage's game and made the fighting last as long as possible. Hiroto saw plainly that Rasa wanted to exhaust him, but Hiroto was also counting on the fact that fuinjutsu might be restored before it happened.

Now it was only a matter of who would last longer; who would win this fight against time.

With all the damages caused by their offensive jutsus, the two moved through one of the blown up wall and continued their fight outside.

Both were starting to pant and their speed was not quite at their peak, but after a while, Hiroto started to notice that the Kazekage's jutsu were getting slightly less powerful. Hiroto felt he had been given new air to breathe. Rasa was obviously started to diminish his amount to chakra put into the attacks. Hiroto was a blessed Uzumaki and therefore didn't need to worry about that for another long while.

But in the end, Rasa's quick reflexes and young age caught up to Hiroto's powerful attacks. After successfully avoiding another water jutsu, Rasa was able to charge towards the Uzumaki with just enough speed to plant his deep into the man's side.

Hiroto let out a pained groan and flew back from his opponent. That's when he noticed some of the Kazekage's gold dust had managed to trap his left hand almost all the way up to the elbow.

Rasa smirk through his heavy breaths and clenched his fist tightly to deliver the bow. Hiroto screamed out in pain as his bones and muscles were crushed under the gold sand until the member had been utterly disintegrated. He fell to the ground in immeasurable pain and pressed down onto the opening, trying desperately to stop the river of blood from escaping.

Rasa walked towards the old man and gathered more gold dust, ready to finish off the clan leader. The latter continued to writhe in pain, seemingly unaware of the enemy approaching him. Once he stood a few feet away, Rasa extended his arm to trap the man entirely into a gold sarcophagus. The Uzumalo disappeared completely under the dust. Rasa clenched his fist tightly again.

Nothing happen.

He clenched harder until his fingernails drew blood, but the dust wouldn't budge, wouldn't compress. Rasa gritted his teeth together, rage slowly starting to blind him. After another unsuccessful attempt, Rasa drew his sand away and saw Hiroto still there…

''What?!'' Rasa stepped back when he noticed the protective blue light around the old man. The latter got up, and Rasa saw that a sort of luminous bandage was stopping the blood from his arm.

Hiroto was panting heavily and in great pain, but he was still alive and fuinjutsu had finally been restored. He could definitely win.

He brought his remaining hand up in a single sign and was about to execute a fatal fuinjutsu-

''Arrrggh!'' A large sword pierced right through Hiroto's heart and the leader fell lifeless to the ground.

Rasa looked at the scene with complete disbelief. He took his eyes of the dead leader and saw the shinobi who had managed to escape both his and the Uzumaki's notice.

''No thanks?'' Rasa would recognise the voice anywhere. The intruder took of his mask and revealed, just as Rasa suspected, none other than Orochimaru.

''It was _my_ fight!'' Orochimaru chuckled at the childish reaction.

''Now that fuinjutsu has been restored, you stood absolutely no chance of winning this fight. But don't worry, I will let you get all the credits for it. After all, you tired him out for me and you served as perfect distraction for my little surprise attack.''

''A fucking coward is what you are,'' Rasa said in between heavy breaths. Orochimaru raised an unimpressed brow at the comment.

''If I'm a coward, what does that make you?'' He snickered at the other man's lack of answer. He walked closer to the injured man, a wide smile across his features.

''What do you want!'' Rasa stepped back until he hit the wall of another nearby building, heart speeding up in fear.

''I know just the thing you could give me as thanks.''

''Get away from me!'' Rasa screamed, extending his hands to summon more gold dust, but found he could not move them. Large snakes had crept from the ground and seized every part of his body. He looked back up towards Orochimaru, who had his disgusting tongue out.

Rasa didn't even have time to beg or scream. He was dead before a single sound had been uttered.

OoOoO

Minato had run towards the great hall, where he knew the children of the academy were gathered in case of emergencies. However, when he saw the blood slowly streaming down the floor from the crack of the massive closed door, he knew that no one on the other side had been left alive. A heavy sickness seized him as he thought of the poor children. Minato had endured many battles and had seen war before, but nothing close to this butchery.

He turned around and left the school before Naruto could see and realize this; Naruto was too drained and unfocused to even register what was going on. Minato was grateful for that.

He was also infinitely grateful for his Naruto's impulsiveness. Staying with Risa –no doubt doing so against orders– had saved his son's life.

Once outside, Minato was relieved to see that the area was relatively empty of enemies; the few that were close by were busy fighting with his comrades. Still, it was distressing to see all around that each Uzu-nin was facing at least three invaders. Naruto seemed a little more composed now, so he let him stand on his feet; though kept a tight grip on his son's hand.

''Are we going to find mom?'' Naruto asked, voice meek and heavy with concern. Minato's heart broke to hear such a sound coming from the little blond.

''I'll find her, I promise,'' the jounin assured, ''but I need to bring you somewhere safe first.'' Minato knew exactly what his son was about to say.

''I'll come with you! I can fight!'' If anything, Minato was glad that his son was gaining back some of his usual spirits, but bringing him along was out of the question.

''You have an important mission of your own, Naruto. Now let's go before we're found by the enemy.'' He did not let Naruto have time to protest. He teleported them both instantly to the only place where he knew Naruto would be safe.

''Isn't that…?'' Naruto trailed off, recognizing the area from his academy classes.

''Yes, it's the entrance for the secret tunnel. We made everyone believe it had been destroyed, but we kept it hidden with a powerful genjutsu all this time.'' The village wanted to keep it well-guarded secret, most of the residents of the village had stayed unaware of its existence. The higher ups who knew about it had hoped to never use it again, but this called for extreme measures.

Father and son entered the tunnel and a few steps into it, they recognized many familiar faces.

''Karin-chan!'' Naruto dashed towards his cousin, who trapped him in a bone-crushing hug.

''Thank god,'' was all Karin could say, her throat tight with all sorts of emotions.

All genin squads had been affected to the tunnel with all the civilians who were able to get help and instructions from the fighting uzu-nin. Now, they were all gathered for an emergency escape.

''What's the situation?'' Minato asked, after embracing his niece warmly.

''A team of chunins are in and making sure the passage is safe. One of them will come back to get us while the rest guard the exit just in case.''

Minato nodded in approval. The inspection was a formality more than anything else, as this particular part of the village has never been on record, but it was always better to be safe than sorry.

He knelt in front of his son, placing a comforting hand on each of the small shoulders. Naruto felt tears gather up in his eyes once more, but managed to hold them in. He knew what his father was about to say and understood that he needed to leave. He needed to stay strong not only for his father's sake, but also for Karin's and all the other children who were here with him, separated from their family.

''I have to go look for your mom. You stay here and listen to Karin, okay?'' Naruto nodded, not trusting his voice. They hugged tightly again, pouring in all the words and emotions they wanted to share in the single embrace.

OoOoO

''Nanami, Nanami!'' Kushina shook her sister's limp body, desperately trying to wake her up. ''No… please…'' Tears streamed freely down Kushina's cheeks. She had just lost her mother, and now her sister as well. The three of them had been fighting off members of the Akatsuki. They had taken down some of them; Hidan, Kakuzu and Deidara were dead, but the price to pay had been heavy.

Kushina didn't have much strength left in her. With her mother and sister gone and without news of her husband and child, it was hard to gather anymore will to fight. She could not let herself be killed though; not as long as there was a shimmer of hope that Naruto was alive. She would not let herself fall before she had seen her boy at least one last time.

She summoned more of the Kyuubi's chakra (she had never used so much of it before today it was getting extremely taxing both physically and mentally), effectively healing some of her wounds and gaining some energy from it. However, she felt the beast's hatred and evil slowly creep in and cloud her judgement. Her control on the beast's influence was getting weaker.

''You fucking monsters!'' Her voice was altered and sounded more like a growl. A malicious red chakra surrounding her got thicker and a sixth tail of chakra grew at her back. Her teeth and nails were sharp like blades and her intent to kill was suffocating for anyone around.

''Shit,'' Sasori cursed loudly. His fake right arm had been completely ripped off. _Where the fuck is Tobi?_

The newest member of the Akatsuki had been assigned to the Jinchuuriki, but had not been seen since the initial attack on the village. Pain and Konan would join him once the leader could no longer hold the anti-fuin barrier, which meant he had to hang on still. Kisame and Itachi, for their part, had been assigned to another operation within the village. Sasori had honestly not expected his comrades to be defeated, at least, not so early in the attack. Facing the Jinchuuriki alone, especially this late in the transformation stages, would be like suicide. All he could hope to accomplish was to avoid the possessed woman's deadly attacks until Pain and Konan came.

The Uzu-nin charged at him with blinding speed; she was now even faster than before with the newly added power of the Kyuubi. She was also much more reckless and less precise with her movements, making it possible for Sasori to avoid direct hits thanks to his puppets taking most of the damage and his engineered blades coming out of his puppet-body. As long as his core remained untouched, he could still make it.

For a while, avoiding the Kyuubi container's attacks was all he could do. He was too damaged to perform any more demanding tasks than controlling the few puppets he had left; and even that was becoming too much. Retreat seemed like the most logical thing to do, but that would be going directly against his orders. He had to stay and keep the Jinchuuriki busy –and tire her out as much as possible- until Nagato joined him. If he left, he knew the Akatsuki would chase him down to kill him… so really, it just looked like he would die one way or another. Things could hardly get any worse.

But they did.

Nagato's anti-fuin barrier was dispelled and stilled the two opponents for a few seconds. Sasori wanted to take this as good news; Nagato would be coming soon, but would he be fast enough? After all, active fuinjutsu could only mean one thing…

''Sealing Art,'' Kushina muttered darkly, recovered from the initial shock. At last Fuin was restored and she could finally end this confrontation. ''Chakra Chains.''

Chains flew at blinding speed towards Sasori and this time, there was nothing he could do. The puppets that had moved in front of him as shield were pierced right through and the chains continued their course, completely unaffected, until they wrapped themselves everywhere around him. The chains tightened, easily cracking the hard wooden surface of his chest and limbs. Sasori closed his eyes, waiting for his inevitable death.

Suddenly, nine large black wooden poles fell from the sky, surrounding Kushina threateningly. Gloomy red-transparent arms emerged from the cursed pole towards her. With no other options left, Kushina was forced to retract her chains so she could get out of the dangerous zone. Sasori's broken body fell to the ground with a loud crash, but the remains of his protective shell was enough to keep any off any major damage to his core. He lifted his eyes tiredly towards the sky and saw indeed that Nagato had arrived. Konan also appeared beside him.

''Where is Tobi?'' She asked, obviously unconcerned about Sasori's state or the other member's corpses lying around. Sasori shook his head slightly, indicating that he didn't know. Konan cursed under her breath. They needed Tobi's Sharingan if they hoped to capture the Kyuubi. Konan sped up to the branch Nagato was perched on and informed him.

As she did so, Kushina ran towards one of the large spaces in between the poles, but was unsurprised to see that she could not leave due to another sort of barrier. She clenched her fists, gritting her teeth lividly. Just as she was finally about to get out of here and look for her family… she cursed loudly again and began a quick series of hand signs and she managed to destroy the seal with one of her own anti-barrier seals.

''We will still extract the Kyuubi.'' Nagato told Konan, who did not look pleased with the announcement. He easily read her thoughts and explained. ''We cannot wait any longer. The more she summons and controls the Kyuubi's chakra, the harder it will be to extract. This is no ordinary Jinchuuriki.'' Konan understood that and did not protest, but she hardly saw how it would be helpful to have the Kyuubi itself freed and out of control on their hands.

Konan gasped and jumped away from the branch when she saw the Jinchuuriki charging towards them.

''Look out!'' She cried out when she saw that her leader had seemingly no intention of avoiding the possessed shinobi's attack.

But her fears revealed themselves to be unfounded, as Nagato as used this as an opportunity to slap another paper seal on to the redhead's forehead. A seal he had previously worked on before the invasion. The Uzumaki's evil red aura slowly faded away as she stayed frozen into place. Kushina could not move; all she could do was stare at the hidden face of his enemy, watching as the breeze brushed the paper strips of his hat only ever so slightly, revealing the piercing gaze of a Rinnegan eye.

OoOoO

A loud, monstrous, piercing growl stunned father and son out of their parting embrace. The two stared at each other wide-eyed for a brief second before they dashed out of the tunnel. Karin, who also had her suspicion, followed soon after them.

Once out of the cave, their fears confirmed themselves. In the distance, far into the eastern extremity of the island, stood fierce and terrible, the Kyuubi no Yoko.

''Mom!'' Naruto cried out, panicked and scared all at once. Minato was just as shocked, but recovered quickly, his desire to find his wife burning stronger than ever. He kneeled in front of his trembling son. Tears were falling down the boy's cheek uncontrollably as thousands of scenarios, each one more horrible than the last, ran through his head. He met His father's own determined eyes. He wanted to come with his father, but he knew he would never let him.

''Stay strong Naruto,'' Minato told his son firmly, squeezing his arms, hoping to bring him out of his stupor. Naruto swallowed thickly and nodded.

Minato cupped his son's cheek, heart aching for his son and wife. It killed him to leave his son's side, but it had to be done. He threw Karin a look and motioned her to take care of Naruto. Karin silently nodded as well.

Minato let go of his son and, as Karin approached Naruto to take his trembling hands, used his Hirashin to teleport himself away.

Naruto sobbed quietly, looking into the distance where he could see the might Kyuuby growling and swirling his tails menacingly. He did his best to stay strong in front of his cousin, but it was harder said than done.

Then, a mysterious masked figure jumped in front of them.

The two children gasped, heart stopping at the sight of the unknown enemy. No one, _no one_ should have been able to follow their trace all the way here. Until the invasion began, not even Karin and Naruto themselves even knew this area existed. Every possible precaution had been taken… so how?

The enemy wore the Akatsuki's unmistakable outfit and wore a strange, orange mask that only let one blood-red eye visible. The tall man took a single, slow step forward.

Karin rushed protectively in front of her cousin and took out a kunai. The man chuckled at the sight.

Before Karin even registered the sound of the man's ominous chuckle, she had been propelled violently against a nearby tree, the pain blurring her vision. She fell to the ground, unable to breath. The last thing she saw before she slipped out of consciousness was the enemy's vile grasp on her younger cousin.

''Karin! Ka-Mmph!'' The man clasped his large hand over Naruto's mouth, smothering any sound trying to come out. Tears streamed down Naruto's cheeks and damped the man's gloved hands. He was desperate for this hell to just end.

''Let's go pay your parents a visit, shall we?'' The enemy's words sent shivers down Naruto's spin. He was too confused and overwhelmed to ponder on what exactly the man meant.

They disappeared as if sucked into a vortex.


	11. Creeping Death II (Final)

**Silver Lining**

 _Creeping Death II  
Final Chapter_

Minato thanked his blessed timing.

When he had teleported to his wife's location, he managed to block a deadly blow Konan had aimed for his wife. Kushina was in terrible shape, having just gone through an extraction, but her strong Uzumaki vitality had kept her alive, which was infinitely more than any other Jinchuriki could have hoped for.

But the Akatsuki wasn't the only thing they had to be worried about.

As soon as he had blocked Konan's attack, Minato grabbed his weakened wife's arm and jumped away to narrowly escape one of the Kyuubi's deadly tails. The beast let out a fierce, blood-freezing growl and slammed Konan with his tail, making the woman fly off at horrifying speed and crash into a nearby tree.

''Konan!'' Nagato cried out, rushing to her side. As he did, the beast focused his attention away from the ninja and looked upon the human village that had cursed and locked it into a cage for two generations. A deep burning desire for revenge took over him. The burning anger transformed into chakra and the monster opened its mouth wide and let out a spherical chakra beam which crashed into the centre of the village, killing and destroying everything in a five-kilometer radius.

Nagato cursed under his breath. Konan wouldn't wake up, but it looked like she was still alive. They had lucked out, but with the beast out like this, it was only a question of time before they were all destroyed. He shouldn't have let it out before Tobi arrived... but where the _hell_ was he?!

Kushina and Minato's eyes widened in horror. Minato suddenly began to panic and fear for his son's life again. It would only need for one of these attacks to go astray and land on the tunnel-area for his son and dear Karin to die.

Unbeknownst to him, his wife was having similar thoughts. She still had no idea where her son was. She could not let another of these attacks get out of the beast. She rose to her feet, barely able to keep her balance.

''Kushina!'' Minato protested, trying to stop her from moving. She ripped her arm off her husband's grip and looked straight into his blue eyes.

''I can still fight. I will protect this village with my life.'' She rushed away and stood in front of the growling beast.

Before the Kyuubi had time to attack her, Kushina had already performed her jutsu. Chakra chains, glowing a bright blue as they were infused with chakra, rushed towards the beast and caught all its limbs, neck and tails. It growled menacingly and tried to summon another chakra ball, but the chains had been designed for beast-taming and he was unable to do so. It narrowed its eye towards its ex-jailer and inspected her. The woman would never last long enough to retain him.

Minato knew what he had to do. If he wanted his wife -and everybody else- to make it out of this, they had to restrain and re-seal the beast. He was beside his beloved in a second and in sage mode the next. He performed another series of hand seals and cried out.

''Sage Art: Heavenly Gates!'' Minato summon his own version of the Shodaime's technique and further sealed the beast's power to save his wife some energy.

''Minato, hurry! Seal it in me!'' Kushina begged, sweating and panting as she felt her life force slowly drift away from her. Minato's eyes widened.

''I can't! You'll die!''

''We'll all die if you don't!'' Kushina replied, tightening her grip on the beast which was thrashing to get away. ''Only an Uzumaki can jail the Kyuubi. Now do it!''

Minato cursed under his breath, feeling his eyes sting from tears threatening to fall. He knew his wife was right. He joined his hands together, ready to do his duty.

''Stop, or I kill him!''

A new voice startled them. Kushina and Minato looked up towards it and the sight paralyzed them.

Another Akatsuki member was standing there, face covered with a strange mask, holding their only son tightly with a kunai to his throat.

''Naruto!'' Kushina cried out, both incredibly relived to see him alive yet mortified to see him in such a predicament.

''Mom... dad...'' Naruto said weakly, feeling the kunai digging ever so slightly against his skin. A few drops of blood dripped onto the blade.

OoOoO

''Aaarrrgh!'' Itachi watched his last victim fall to the ground impassively. The Uzu-nin contorted and groaned in unbearable pain, helpless under the spell of the Uchiha's Mangekyou Sharingan, until the man suddenly went completely limp.

Itachi sighed, then put a bloodied hand over his gaping wound on his ribs. He narrowed his eyes, then moved his gaze across the dark room, floor covered with still bodies. His blood-red eyes fell on Kisame's immobile form. He couldn't tell if his partner was dead or alive, but he could care less. He turned towards the large door that had been guarded so desperately by the Uzu-nin. Itachi had to give it to them; they had fought well and had given him a much harder time than expected. It had been almost easy at first, but when Fuinjutsu had unexpectedly been restored early, things had started to slip out of his hands. He had even gotten heavily injured by one of them.

The Uchiha limped towards the door and opened it, grinding his teeth in Nagato as the effort trained on his injury. He pushed it open and stared at the sight that greeted him. It was exactly as pain had described.

Itachi had known that Uzushio had built a hidden Mask Storage Temple within the grounds of Konoha as a demonstration of trust and friendship. The temple contained masks with mysterious and mighty powers that Uzushio had instructed Konoha to protect. However, what he hadn't known was that those were only half of the masks that the village had created over the past generations. The most powerful ones, Nagato had told him, were still here in Uzushio.

Finding the temple had been no easy task and would have been impossible, had it not been for Nagato's Intel... Itachi honestly hadn't expected for so many powerful Uzu-nin to be protecting it, considering how well-guarded of a secret it was. They hadn't taken any chances, obviously, and Itachi could respect that.

He took slow painful steps towards the masks. The one Nagato had described for him to take was in the middle with several seals protecting and locking it into place. Itachi reached for a scroll in his bloodied coat, given to him by the Akatsuki leader. He opened and activated it. Itachi gritted his teeth, cursing at the amount of chakra this jutsu required. At least the seals around the mask were unlocked and it fell with a sharp _tak_ on the ground.

Itachi picked it up and observed it carefully. It was surprisingly plain; a brown face-shaped thing, with a single black eye drawn on its forehead and nothing else. No holes to see or breath, no other design... just, ominously simple.

Their leader hadn't explained what this particular mask did. He raised his eyes towards the other four remaining on the wall. Clearly, the others didn't seem as precious as the one he was holding, but it seemed like a waste to leave them there. He smirked. What a shame that he didn't have the necessary knowledge in Fuinjutsu to unlock and steal them for himself. Another time, perhaps. When Nagato was defeated.

He turned back and walked out of the anteroom where the masks were on display, then walked past the numerous bodies.

''Y-you...'' Itachi's eyes widened slightly. He turned towards the strained voice and recognized the man who had injured him. A dark-haired, bearded man with a scar on his brow. Itachi could not believe he was still alive; though by the look of him, he wouldn't be for very look. He was practically swimming in a pool of his own blood. ''Y-you have no... idea, d-do you? ... What th-this mask...'' The man was unable to finish his sentence, he groaned in pain. Itachi walked to the man, quite interested in what he had to say.

''What does it do?'' Itachi asked calmly. He had a feeling that Nagato wouldn't explain it until he used it, which was a prospect Itachi was not particularly looking forward to. He didn't know why, but that was it regardless. Perhaps this was the only opportunity he would get.

''Fuck you,'' the man spat with his last breath and went completely limp, eyes empty from the passage of death.

Itachi stared blankly, then let a small laugh escape through his lips. He turned back towards the exit.

''I...ta...chi...'' The cloaked man stopped once again and looked at his partner.

''You're still alive,'' Itachi stated simply. Kisame weakly raised his head and trembling hand from the ground.

''H-help me... you b-bastard,'' Kisame breathed out, grunting in pain.

OoOoO

''Let him go!'' Minato growled, angry chakra flaring from him and sage-marks getting bolder.

''Oh, I will,'' Tobi said calmly, ''if you release the Kyuubi first.''

Both worried parents gritted their teeth anxiously. They had no choice but to obey. They released their respective jutsus.

The Kyuubi did not let this opportunity go to waste. The first thing he had to do was get rid of those who could seal him away again. He let his sharp claws out and slashed them towards the two Uzu-nin.

Kushina, who knew the beast better than anyone, had anticipated the move and had pushed herself and her husband out of line... but not quiet fast enough. She felt horrifying pain seize her back and she fell limply to the ground.

''Kushina!'' Minato cried out as he fell to the ground and heard her scream. He turned around and his stomach twist when he saw the large wound at her stomach. He wasted no time and quickly performed a healing jutsu.

As soon as the seals had been released. Tobi rushed towards the Kyuubi with the child still in his firm grip. Naruto thrashed to try and see what had happened to his parents but couldn't.

He was now face to face with the great best.

And for some strange reason, it wasn't moving. It was just staring, as if hypnotized. Naruto stared, unbelieving, as the Kyuubi's pupils began to transform.

Then he realized that the pressure from the kunai to his throat had loosened. He discretely looked up towards his kidnapper. He couldn't see much because of the mask, but he could see and feel enough to know his focus wasn't on him anymore.

Naruto did the only thing he could think of and elbowed his assailant as hard as his strength let him. The man grunted and released him, but the surprise also made the Akastuki lose his hypnotic grip on the tailed beast.

Naruto fell down from Tobi's grip. There wasn't much around to grab on or cushion his fall and Tobi had taken all his equipment from him. Minato acted on instinct; he used his Hirashin to teleport and catch his son from his fall, but just as he did, the angry beast had swung one its tails and sent Naruto flying against a large pillar of a nearby temple's gate. Minato and Kushina cried out their son's name, and the blond man teleported again to Naruto's location. The impact hadn't knocked his son out, Minato observed with some relief, but he had broken a few bones in the process. His son was in a terrible shape, but very much alive. Tears brimming his eyes and he held his son carefully in his arms –Naruto held on weakly- and teleported back to his wife's location.

While all of this occurred, Tobi desperately tried to lock the beast back into his control... but the Kyuubi would not be fooled again. It closed its eyes and slashed his claws at the Akatsuki. Tobi tried to escape and managed to save his own life, but not without costing him an arm. He cried out and held the wound tightly, fruitlessly trying to hold the blood in. Nagato, who had gone and moved Konan to a safe place, had come back and joined Tobi's side. The Akatsuki leader closed the wound with one of his sealing techniques.

''I'll try to immobilize the beast while you tame it,'' Nagato told Tobi, who weakly nodded.

It was a much more arduous feat than they had first anticipated. Even by having dispelled the rest of his paths, it was still very difficult for Nagato to summon his chakra and perform the high-level fuinjutsu needed to hod the beast down. He had spent too much of it fighting and unsealing the beast.

It should have been so simple... he only had to perform the anti-Fuin barrier seal, then unseal the Kyuubi and Tobi would have taken care of the rest... but for some reason completely alien to Nagato, the masked shinobi had altered the plan and had kidnapped some boy. His timing and decisions couldn't have been more detrimental to the mission... what had he been thinking?! What motive could he possibly have had?

But there was no time for such questions. They had a tailed beast to defeat.

Once beside his wife, Minato had had every intention to use Hirashin to get his family out of here while the Akatsuki was busy with the Kyuubi, but there, the reality faced him hard.

Kushina was dying.

''Mom...''

Naruto gently took his mother's trembling hand in his own weak one. Tears were falling freely. His father took his wife's other hand and both knew this was their last moment. Husband and wife shared a tender smile -as painful as it was- and no words were needed. Kushina then turned to her son. The sheer life force that had kept her alive so long was fading; now that she could finally look upon her son, and knowing that Minato was there to protect him, she could finally let go...

''D-don't... forget...''

Naruto nodded vigorously through his tears. He knew exactly what his mother meant.

 _Don't forget who you are._

 _Don't forget what I taught you._

 _Don't forget that I love you._

''Love you mom!'' Naruto chocked out.

''Love you... too...''

Both father and son felt Kushina's body go limp. She closed her eyes, expression serene.

Minato chocked onto his tears but willed himself to focus. It killed him to leave his deceased wife like this, but he needed to get their son out of here. He laid her hand gently onto her heart and turned to his son.

''Naruto, we-'' Minato froze. His son was shaking and a bright blue hue surrounded him. The small boy rose to his wobbly feet, eyes full of grief yet also full of determination. The boy could feel the new power within him, helping him ignore the tremendous pain he was in. Instinctively, he knew exactly what it was.

''GAAAAARH!'' Naruto screamed out in agony as he freed his chakra chains. They flew out, bursting with fresh and unrestrained force towards the Kyuubi, which had just fired one of its attacks towards the two Akatsuki members.

The beast growled out when it felt the chains surround him and paralyze him.

 **''NO!''** It cried, not believing the Uzumaki woman had survived its claws. It turned its head towards the source of the chains, only to find a little boy, eyes brimming with tears. **''Impossible!''**

Naruto pulled on the chains and viciously pulled them down, bringing the beast's whole body to the ground with a loud bang. Dust and dirt clouded around the gigantic creature and dispelled with a gust of wind.

''Tobi, now!'' Nagato panicked. They couldn't waste any more time and chakra in this fight.

Tobi grunted weakly and got up from the ground where he had roughly landed. He hurried over to the fox and seized the opportunity. The beast, which had been too stunned by Naruto's new ability, failed to see Tobi come to it and could not close its eyes on time. It found itself staring into one ominous Sharingan eye.

Minato could not see what exactly the masked Akatsuki was trying to do, but he knew that he couldn't let him near the immobilized Bijuu. No matter how much they had taken from them, Minato would not let the Akatsuki get a hold of the beast and destroy even more lives than they had today.

''I'm sorry Naruto,'' Minato confessed as he began the ritual hand signs.

''Don't worry, dad,'' Naruto replied, knowing what his father had in mind.

''Uzumaki Secret Sealing Art: Eternal Demon Binding Seal!''

Minato put his hands on Naruto's shoulder as he activated Mito's very own technique, which she had used on herself to seal the Kyuubi. Naruto instantly felt an intense burning sensation on his stomach. He knew the technique himself well enough to know his father would die from Chakra exhaustion. He was quick to act and put his own hands on the slowly forming seal, pouring his own chakra into it to help his father. With that birth of his new found ability, Naruto could feel that his chakra pool had nearly doubled. He poured as much chakra as he could into the seal, ensuring his father's survival. He was _not_ letting his father die too.

The Tailed Beast growled one last time, the shrieking sound piercing and deafening everyone's ears. The Kyuubi slowly sublimated itself into pure chakra, flowing through Naruto's chains and directly into his stomach.

It fused itself with Naruto until it vanished completely, and once it did, Naruto lost consciousness and fell into his father's careful arms.

Minato panted heavily as he secured his son in his grasp, immense relief passing through him. Now, they truly had a chance.

He looked one last time towards the two Akatsuki members. The leader seemed unconscious on the ground, but the other crippled one was still standing. He met one dark eye and Minato felt a strange connection pass through them. He did not let that slow him down, however, and before the masked shinobi could do or say anything, he had teleported as far away from the man as he could.

OoOoO

''So this is the Tunnel Nagato told us about,'' Kabuto mused indifferently as they exited the now completely destroyed village.

''Looks like someone cleaned it up before us,'' Orochimaru, now in the Kazekage's form, said with a dark chuckle. Corpse with gaping wounds were scattered everywhere in the tunnel. No one had been spared, including the civilian children.

Orochimaru quickly inspected the bodies, but did not find anything worth his notice.

''I was hoping they'd try to save some of their precious scrolls, but I don't see any,'' the snake observed with some degree of disappointment.

One of the main reasons he had even participated in this madness -other than taking over the Kazekage's body- was to steal techniques from the village. Nagato had told them about a secret library within the village, but even the Akatsuki leader didn't know where it was exactly or how to access it. He had been too young when he had gone MIA to know. Both he and Kabuto had looked restlessly for it, they had even tortured some high-ranking Uzu-nin to find out, but with no success. His only chance now was for some of them to have escaped with scrolls, but that too failed. It seemed Uzushio's well-guarded secrets would die with them.

''Let's go, Kabuto. There's nothing left for us here,'' Orochimaru said at last and walked further down the tunnel, stepping disrespectfully on the several corpses.

''Orochimaru-sama... this one's alive...'' Kabuto informed with utter disbelief.

''Then kill her,'' Orochimary retorted in annoyance as he looked at his pupil kneeling in front of a little girl.

''She should be dead already but-'' Kabuto stopped talking with a gasp as he inspected the girl's enormous wound closer.

Intrigued, Orochimary walked over to the girl to see for himself. He was left speechless for a moment, then a sinister smile twisted his stolen face.

The red-haired girl looked no older than fourteen years old. She was unconscious, sweating and trembling slightly as if in a bad dream. She had a massive injury that would have killed _anyone_ , yet this girl was alive and the wound was slowly closing itself before their eyes. Her healing powers were beyond anything Orochimaru had ever seen.

''Bring her with us,'' Orochimaru ordered, his wicked smile widening further.

OoOoO

Minato was running as fast as he could with his child still unconscious on his back. He had been able to teleport near the tunnel with the last bit of chakra he could afford to us. He was panting, his vision was blurry, he was hurting everywhere, he was beyond grieved and revolted, but he didn't let this slow him down. The determination to save his son was the strength that allowed him to keep on running.

He reached the entrance of the tunnel. Once in, the sight nearly made the ninja vomit.

Blood, entrails, corpses... the young and the old alike... they had all been massacred.

He continued to run.

As he did, he quickly scanned the bodies, desperately trying to find Karin or any survivor, but found neither. He gritted his teeth, swallowing down a sob that wanted to get out.

He ran and ran.

OoOoO

 _\- The next day, at the Akatsuki's temporary hideout -_

''I hope whatever made you derive from the plan was worth it, Tobi,'' Nagato muttered from where he was sitting as he helped Konan change her bandages.

Tobi wisely chose not to answer. He continued to stare at the wall in front of him. Itachi was not too far away, not looking particularly interested in the conversation going on. He was the least injured of them all. Tobi clicked his tongue in annoyance, then looked down at his missing arm. No, it hadn't been worth it at all.

''There's only five of us now,'' Nagato stated. Him, Konan, Tobi, Itachi and Kisame. ''That is, if Kisame makes it out of his fever,'' Nagato continued, looking at the pitiful mess that was Kisame. He had been heavily injured and was suffering infections from them. That, along with the massive blood loss, there was no guaranty he would survive.

''That wouldn't have been so bad, had we been in possession of the Nine-Tails,'' Nagato said as he finished tying up Konan's bandages. He brushed her cheek comfortingly, then turned to stare into Tobi's single eye. ''But we aren't,'' he finished, teeth gritting together, suppressing his anger.

''Don't bullshit me,'' Tobi spat back. ''We got what was _really_ important. The Uzumaki clan is wiped out and we have the mask... The Nine-Tails is sealed in a little brat now. He doesn't control it like his mother did, and he won't until many years. We can get it whenever we want, just like the other tailed beasts.''

''You-''

''Listen, you know as well as I do that I'm not the one who screwed things up. That man, that blond man, he's the one you hadn't anticipated in your _perfect_ plan. Regardless of what I did, or didn't do, that man would _not_ have let us take the Kyuubi.''

''You know that man,'' Nagato stated. He narrowed his eyes.

''Minato Namikaze. Or Uzumaki through marriage. He was my squad sensei.''

''I see.''

''I haven't seen him since I was a child,'' Tobi stared down at his only hand. He clenched it and anger seized him. ''He's become even stronger than I imagined. That man... Minato... he's taken yet another thing from me.''

''Ah, revenge,'' Nagato said evenly. ''So that's what it was.'' Tobi glared at the red-haired man, then chuckled darkly.

''Isn't everything?''

OoOoO

 _\- Three days later, near Konoha -_

The strength that had carried him through his journey was slowly fading him with each step. With each of them, he could see the outline of his native village.

''J-just... a little more,'' Minato breathed out, voice shaking with agony. He fell on one of his knees, panting heavily. He looked back at his son, still unconscious and ghostly pale on his back. _Just a little more... a little,_ Minato chanted in his mind. He had been doing so for a while now, convincing himself that it would be all over soon.

He struggled to get up and kept on walking.

''Oh my god!''

Minato looked up in front of him. Vision was blurry. He could only make out the silhouette of two men running towards him.

''Kotetsu,'' one of them said urgently, ''you're faster than I am. Take the kid. I'll take care of his father!''

''I...'' Minato smiled weakly. His vision got even blurrier. ''m-made it...''

Then complete darkness.

OoOoO

 _\- Back to the present -_

Naruto stared out at the window, sitting up in his bed. He had not gotten a wink of sleep. The moon was full and the sky was clear of any clouds. His bedroom was lit up by it's blue-ish hue. He couldn't stop thinking about Gaara's empty look. It was the same look as all those years ago, before his seal had been changed.

He sighed heavily. There was no point in trying to sleep. Naruto got off his bed and walked outside of his room. Maybe eating something would help. It would pass the time at least.

Once in the hall, Naruto was unsurprised to see that the light in his father's office was on. He walked straight to it and knocked softly on the door.

''Come in,'' Minato replied. He was used to his son coming in at random hours of the night now. These times were tense; neither him nor his son seemed able to get proper sleep because of the risks of the chunin exams.

''Hey dad,'' Naruto greeted tiredly and walked over to some scrolls from his home village he had been reading lately. He picked one of them and sat at a low table across from his father's. His dad had always preferred studying on the floor, sitting on a cushion and sprawling his documents on the low table. He supposed he had taken the habit from his dad.

''Making progress?'' Naruto asked after a moment of silent reading. Minato grinned.

''Yes. As a matter of fact, I'm on the verge of a breakthrough. It'll bring the 'Yellow Flash' to a whole other level. I've also made great advancements in Fuinjutsu in general, all of this thanks to Mito-sama's scrolls.'' He gave his son a triumphant smile. ''What about you? What have you been working on, lately?''

''Anti-Fuinjutsu,'' Naruto answered vaguely.

Minato blinked in curiosity. It seemed like an odd choice at first, since their village had been wiped out. No one outside of it had the necessary skills to counter his and Naruto's skills in sealing techniques. However, with the recent discovery of the Akatsuki leader undoubtedly being an Uzumaki, it made sense. But something was telling Minato that his son wasn't researching it simply for that reason...

In fact, looking at his son right now, his son seemed more determined and focused than ever before. The weight had left his son's shoulder and the shadow in his eyes had left too. The dread of the Chunin exams had strained on his son's moral lately, but he looked fine now.

''You look... better,'' Minato said hesitantly.

''I am,'' Naruto smiled. ''Still can't sleep though.'' His father chuckled.

''Did something happen?''

''I can't keep on living in fear, you know?'' Naruto confessed. Minato's eyes widened. ''I think I finally accepted the reality of being a ninja... I need to focus on what's important; I don't want what happened to our village to happen here... I also want to help Gaara go back to his original self. Whatever is happening right now, I know I need to face it... and to face it, I need to stop being scared.''

''Naruto... you have the right to feel scared. You're just a kid. Let me have those kinds of worries.''

It broke Minato's heart to hear his son talk like this, yet, he was also very proud. His son was growing up much too fast because of what had happened. He wished he could have shielded his son from all of this, but he knew Naruto was right. They needed to face the upcoming challenges with a focused and clear mind if they wanted to properly protect themselves and the people around them.

''I'm the Kyuubi's jailer now, so I don't think it'll be possible for me not to worry, you know?'' Naruto laughed half-heartedly. Minato nodded sadly in agreement.

''I'm a ninja,'' Naruto declared suddenly with a smile ''And I'm Uzumaki Kushina's son! I'll protect my precious people and stop all that stupid fighting! And I never go back on my word!'' He gave his father an enormous grin, eyes burning with the Will of Fire.

''I know you will,'' Minato smiled proudly.

He was certain now; his son was the child of the prophecy.

* * *

 **Notes**

I. FUCKING. DID IT. I finished the fucking story. Well, this installment anyway.

I made up the technique Minato used to seal the Kyuubi. I didn't see why he would need the 'Dead Demon Consuming Seal' in the circumstances of this fic. If Mito was able to seal the Kyuubi on her own without dying, I don't see why Minato couldn't with Naruto's chakra. Hope that makes sense to you.

There will be a sequel... one day lol.

Just so you know, for the purpose of the sequel, I simplified the shit out of Naruto's universe regarding the big bad guys. I don't want to write a dragonball-like mess of infinite forms of powers and dimensions and reincarnations and shit. My brain can't handle those. Bare with me.

Hope you enjoyed this! Cheers!


	12. SEQUEL: IMPORTANT NOTE

**IMPORTANT  
**

 ***** The first chapter of Silver Lining's sequel** _ **''Where the Wind Blows''**_ **is up!*****

 **Warning:** The sequel will contain SasuNaru.

 _If you need your memory refreshed but don't feel like re-reading Silver Lining, here is a **summary** in roughly-chronological order:_

1\. Minato moved to Uzushio as a young adult to learn about sealing. He met Kushina and together they had Naruto. Kushina is still the container of the Kyuubi. Karin is Naruto's older cousin and the two are very close.

2\. Naruto, now seven years old, goes on a school trip with his class to Konoha. There, Naruto's group meets Sasuke's group and their respective teachers organize a friendly spar between their top students. Surprise surprise: it's Naruto vs Sasuke. Despite his flaws, Naruto's extreme talent with Fuinjutsu gives him the advantage. Budding friendship ensues.

3\. Some time later, Sasuke's clan is killed by Itachi, like in canon.

4\. Soon after, Minato and Kushina are sent to Suna to fix Gaara's unstable seal. They bring Naruto along. Naruto befriends Gaara. Kushina fixes Gaara's seal. That and his newfound friendship and slowly-restoring relationship with his sister allows Gaara a second chance at life, now no longer under the evil influence of Shukaku.

5\. While the Uzumaki family is in Suna, Deidara and Sasori try to capture the Ichibi. However, they had not expected Kushina and Minato to be there (two extremely powerful ninjas) and their attempt fails. Sasori is captured by the Kazekage.

6\. The Kazekage is jealous of Kushina's power as Jinchuuriki and is disappointed in his failed experiment with his son. His shinobi village is on the brink of bankruptcy and desperation drives him to make a deal with the Akatsuki through Sasori.

7\. Because of the Akatsuki's unexpected attack, Konoha and Uzushio send reinforcements to escort the Uzumaki family as precaution. Uzumaki Risa (Naruto's Academy teacher) and Hyuuga Tokuma meet for the first time and fall in love.

8\. The whole group goes back to Konoha. Naruto and Sasuke interact again. Sasuke is broken and angry because of his clan's extermination, but his interactions with Naruto help him a little. He still wants to kill his brother, but he is more open to the idea of forming bonds with others and he deeply respects Naruto.

9\. A year or two later, Sasuke visits Naruto in Uzushio. He further deepens his friendship with him and is given another perspective on life through the Uzushio's strange customs and way of life.

10\. The Akatsuki plots their attack on Uzushio and they form an alliance with Iwa, Suna and Oto. Nagato is the leader. He is an Uzumaki himself and as such has great mastery of Fuinjutsu. He went MIA during the second shinobi war, so everyone in Uzushio (including Minato and Kushina) thinks he's dead.  
The goals:  
\- The Akatsuki wants to destroy Uzushio as they pose the greatest threat to their plan of gathering the Bijuus due to their expertise on sealing. They also want to steal a powerful mask from the Uzumaki clan and also capture the Nine-Tails.  
\- Orochimaru wants to test his super-soldiers (Oto-nins) and also take that opportunity to take over the Kazekage's body without anybody noticing.  
\- Iwa and Suna want to take revenge over the last war AND destroy the economic threat that Uzushio represents for their villages.

11\. The attack takes place. Iwa, Suna and Oto ninjas hide their identity through disguise. The whole village is destroyed in one night. The Akatsuki takes a hold on the mask, but they fail to capture the Kyuubi. Several Akatsuki members die. Tobi loses an arm because of Minato. Kushina dies, which causes Naruto to awaken his chakra chains and helps Minato seal the Kyuubi into him. Minato teleports away with Naruto. Orochimaru takes over the Kazekage's body as planned. Orochimaru captures Karin due to her incredible healing powers that he witnesses on site.  
Akatsuki survivors: Nagato, Tobi, Konan, Itachi and Kisame.  
Uzushio survivors: Naruto, Minato, Karin (Minato and Naruto think she is dead) and Uzumaki Risa's unborn daughter, Juki, later saved by Konoha's Search & Rescue team.

12\. Minato and Naruto now live in Konoha. Naruto joins the Academy for his last year and graduates. He befriends Shikamaru & co. Shikamaru's insight leads Naruto to believe the leader of the attack on his village must have been an Uzumaki. Naruto tells his father and the Hokage. The Kyuubi also confirms having recognized the presence of an Uzumaki from his memories when he was in Kushina's body.

13\. Minato researches this avenue and looks up the MIA list. He suspects Nagato due to the circumstances of his disappearance.

14\. Jiraiya investigates Uzushio's destruction and, thanks to his spy network, he discovers the identity of the villages who participated in the attack.

15\. Naruto visits baby Juki at the Hyuuga compound. He learns that Juki will likely not bear the name Uzumaki and that she is in danger of later receiving the Caged Bird seal because she is the daughter of a branch member. Neji tells Naruto that there's nothing he can do about it and that it is Juki's parents' mistake. Naruto gets angry and the two get in a fight, but Minato stops them before there is a winner.

16\. The Chunin exam approaches. Several foreign ninjas arrive for the occasion, including ninjas from Oto, Suna and Iwa. This makes Naruto extremely anxious and he fears there will be an attack on Konoha, but there is no proof. He also meets with Gaara and his siblings. Temari and Kankuro are happy to see him, but Gaara acts cold and clearly doesn't remember Naruto. Naruto suspects someone messed with Gaara's seal, and that makes him even more convinced that there will be another attack.

17\. After a talk with his father, Naruto's anxiety lifts up and he feels ready to face whatever the Chunin exams will bring. Minato tells Naruto that Konoha is on its guard and that they are prepared for an invasion.

 **Important reminder:** Sasuke hasn't awakened his Sharingan yet.


End file.
